As many of you know, the news of General Motors is not so good. In yesterday’s Bloomberg an article entitled "GM Bankruptcy Plan Developing as Board Seeks Savings", indicates that GM will likely be filing bankruptcy soon and splitting the company into two – one with good assets the other with bad. Too soon to comment on the plan because its all speculation, but it got me thinking about how to solve the problem. Two words popped into my head – Winston Wolf.
Winston Wolf is a character from Pulp Fiction. Pulp is a fantastic movie and for any guy who came of age in the 1990’s, it’s a cultural touchstone. The first time I saw it was in the Cinema Draft House in Arlington, VA, a great place to watch a movie because it’s a movie theater that just so happens to be a restaurant/bar as well. Pulp was an awesome movie because it was just so different; the violence was graphic, the music was eclectic, the story telling quick and the dialogue was fast, memorable and quotable - for frat boys such as myself this was the holy trinity of movie experiences.
The best part of Pulp Fiction is the characters. All are memorable and most immediately remember Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson as hit men Vincent Vega and Jules. Jackson is still trying to find to recapture the magic of him as Jule's - nothing tops his quoting of Ezekiel 25:17. However, my favorite character is the aforementioned Winston Wolf.
Harvey Keitel played the “Wolf”. His job is to solve problems. Check out this clip from the movie, but beware its not suitable for work, so turn the volume down if you must watch it at the office. I like the Wolf because he is pure genius, a strategist and leader for a chaotic and pressure packed world. As I watched the clip it occurred to me that he could be a great model for a CEO because of the traits he possesses:
1. He inspires confidence. When Jules calls Marcellus and explains the situation, Marcellus tells him the Wolf is on the case, Jules says "that's all you needed to say.
2. He is trusted. Recognizing the situation, Marcellus doesn't hesitate to call the Wolf to solve his problem. Likewise, in the other scenes, no one questions his approach; they trust that he is making the right decision.
3. He embraces the moment. The Wolf understands and acts on the sense of urgency, but does it with a calming approach. He is not frantic; he is relaxed and even takes time to get a cup of coffee - lots of cream and lots of sugar.
4. He is focused. The Wolf only asks the questions he needs the answers to. He doesn't care about why the situation happened, only the pertinent facts that he needs to make decisions and create an action plan.
5. He is quick. Once he has the facts about what he needs to know, he makes decisions. He doesn't take a lot of time to analyze the options and create all sorts of scenarios. He recognizes that its better to make a fast decision that might be wrong than no decision at all.
6. He delegates. Jimmy is getting coffee and linens, Jules & Vincent are cleaning the car and the Wolf is making the call's he needs to make to dispose of the car. Everyone has a responsibility and plays a role in solving the problem.
7. He is clear and concise. As he delegates, he provides pointed direction so there is no room for miscommunication or individual interpretation. Clean the car so there is no brains, make sure you get the puddles of blood cleaned up but don't worry about having it so clean you can eat off it. With the linens, only dark ones and make sure they are heavy.
8. He cuts through the bull. When Vincent complains that the Wolf doesn't say please, he is quick to point out why he doesn't say please while restating the objective of his actions.
9. He finds solutions and has a plan. He recognized the situation and the resources available and found a solution that achieved the end goal.
10. He motivates. When Jimmy created an obstacle about his wives linens, he utilized cash to motivate Jimmy to give them up but does it in a way where Jimmy can rationalize it and feel comfortable with it.
11. He is networked. He immediately called an associate to ensure that he has a place to send the car.
12. He is flexible. While he had a plan, he also realized that something could go wrong, so in the event it did, he instructed everyone not to do anything until he made a move. He had a contingency plan in place.
Excluding the circumstances of this particular movie, doesn't he possess leadership traits that we want our CEO's and elected officials to possess? Barring that, wouldn't it be great if the country had a Wolf that we could call? Somehow, I don’t think he would have a problem negotiating with lenders, unions and vendors nor laying out a plan to solve the problems.
Beyond the auto crisis, shouldn’t we get the Wolf involved in all our other issues? Can you imagine putting the Wolf on the job for solving the housing crisis, toxic assets or Iraq? How do you think the Wolf would approach these problems?
Winston Wolf is a character from Pulp Fiction. Pulp is a fantastic movie and for any guy who came of age in the 1990’s, it’s a cultural touchstone. The first time I saw it was in the Cinema Draft House in Arlington, VA, a great place to watch a movie because it’s a movie theater that just so happens to be a restaurant/bar as well. Pulp was an awesome movie because it was just so different; the violence was graphic, the music was eclectic, the story telling quick and the dialogue was fast, memorable and quotable - for frat boys such as myself this was the holy trinity of movie experiences.
The best part of Pulp Fiction is the characters. All are memorable and most immediately remember Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson as hit men Vincent Vega and Jules. Jackson is still trying to find to recapture the magic of him as Jule's - nothing tops his quoting of Ezekiel 25:17. However, my favorite character is the aforementioned Winston Wolf.
Harvey Keitel played the “Wolf”. His job is to solve problems. Check out this clip from the movie, but beware its not suitable for work, so turn the volume down if you must watch it at the office. I like the Wolf because he is pure genius, a strategist and leader for a chaotic and pressure packed world. As I watched the clip it occurred to me that he could be a great model for a CEO because of the traits he possesses:
1. He inspires confidence. When Jules calls Marcellus and explains the situation, Marcellus tells him the Wolf is on the case, Jules says "that's all you needed to say.
2. He is trusted. Recognizing the situation, Marcellus doesn't hesitate to call the Wolf to solve his problem. Likewise, in the other scenes, no one questions his approach; they trust that he is making the right decision.
3. He embraces the moment. The Wolf understands and acts on the sense of urgency, but does it with a calming approach. He is not frantic; he is relaxed and even takes time to get a cup of coffee - lots of cream and lots of sugar.
4. He is focused. The Wolf only asks the questions he needs the answers to. He doesn't care about why the situation happened, only the pertinent facts that he needs to make decisions and create an action plan.
5. He is quick. Once he has the facts about what he needs to know, he makes decisions. He doesn't take a lot of time to analyze the options and create all sorts of scenarios. He recognizes that its better to make a fast decision that might be wrong than no decision at all.
6. He delegates. Jimmy is getting coffee and linens, Jules & Vincent are cleaning the car and the Wolf is making the call's he needs to make to dispose of the car. Everyone has a responsibility and plays a role in solving the problem.
7. He is clear and concise. As he delegates, he provides pointed direction so there is no room for miscommunication or individual interpretation. Clean the car so there is no brains, make sure you get the puddles of blood cleaned up but don't worry about having it so clean you can eat off it. With the linens, only dark ones and make sure they are heavy.
8. He cuts through the bull. When Vincent complains that the Wolf doesn't say please, he is quick to point out why he doesn't say please while restating the objective of his actions.
9. He finds solutions and has a plan. He recognized the situation and the resources available and found a solution that achieved the end goal.
10. He motivates. When Jimmy created an obstacle about his wives linens, he utilized cash to motivate Jimmy to give them up but does it in a way where Jimmy can rationalize it and feel comfortable with it.
11. He is networked. He immediately called an associate to ensure that he has a place to send the car.
12. He is flexible. While he had a plan, he also realized that something could go wrong, so in the event it did, he instructed everyone not to do anything until he made a move. He had a contingency plan in place.
Excluding the circumstances of this particular movie, doesn't he possess leadership traits that we want our CEO's and elected officials to possess? Barring that, wouldn't it be great if the country had a Wolf that we could call? Somehow, I don’t think he would have a problem negotiating with lenders, unions and vendors nor laying out a plan to solve the problems.
Beyond the auto crisis, shouldn’t we get the Wolf involved in all our other issues? Can you imagine putting the Wolf on the job for solving the housing crisis, toxic assets or Iraq? How do you think the Wolf would approach these problems?
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