Newsweek has a new owner and staffers are undoubtedly nervous about their jobs. They needn't be. If past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior -- and it is -- staffers can be reassured by Sidney Harman's track record as an enlightened boss.
"You can't expect people to innovate and find better ways to do things if it means putting themselves out of a job," Sidney Harman told me some 20 years ago.
Dr. Harman was the founder and CEO of Harman Kardon, a consumer electronics company famous for its high-quality sound systems. He's a dynamic, savvy, no-nonsense executive who doesn't suffer fools gladly. As he made his point, it was clear that he didn't understand why more people don't get it.
Sidney and I weren't having an ordinary conversation -- I was there to interview for a job with his company. And while the man is 30 years my senior, I realized that I would be hard-pressed to keep up with his energy, his high expectations and his demanding personal style. He didn't become successful by being warm and fuzzy, and I must admit, I was more than a little intimidated by him. But there have been many times in my life when the people who taught me the most were those whose personalities were tough and challenging, and Sidney Harman was one of those people.
What surprised me was that beneath his intense, no-nonsense demeanor beats a warm and generous heart. He understands what makes people tick, and he built a company based not only on a genius for electronics and sound systems, but a genius for people practices.
Harman International became a world leader by placing a premium on innovation and creativity. Employees are encouraged to think about ways to improve productivity, enhance product quality and cut manufacturing costs. Sidney ensures this happens by making it safe for people to innovate, even if their own jobs might disappear as a result.
"I have created a separate division for people whose jobs have been eliminated by new ideas within the company," he explained. "We called it Olé -- Off Line Enterprises. If a product line is discontinued, or a new manufacturing process makes some jobs unnecessary, I take those people who are affected and put them in Olé. They don't lose their jobs. I try to never, never lay people off. When people go to Olé, their job is to think up new products for old markets, or new markets for old products."
"That's brilliant," I told him, with genuine respect and amazement.
"It's not brilliant," he corrected me. "It's common sense. You can't ask people to innovate their way out of a job unless you give them the security that makes it safe for them to do so."
While Olé develops viable new product lines, these new products create new divisions where people are put to work building the product they helped think up. And so the process continues, innovation and creativity are stimulated by the reassurance of job security and the reward of working on something new.
"Isn't that expensive?" I asked.
"Yes, it costs money," he replied. "But it is offset by the hidden costs associates with reductions in force and the ultimate rehiring of people -- costs we now avoid. Most important, a message is sent to our people about where the company's heart is. This is not lost on our workforce."
I didn't get the job with Sidney Harman, but perhaps I got something more valuable: an insight into human nature and a new understanding of the folly of asking people to do something that is not in their own best interest. You can't expect people to be creative and innovative if it means innovating themselves right out of a job. A smart boss understands this, so he makes it SAFE for people to invent, change and grow themselves while they grow the company.
What I learned from that interview made me a better manager and a better teacher of other managers. Thanks for the lesson in leadership, Dr. Harman.