Managing Business Decisions - Learning From a Former CEO

 What is it which separates many of us from becoming what we want to be? Will we be able to fulfill our dreams or get stuck in something incomprehensible? And in the end will our lives be a happy one or will we spend decades after decades chasing that one ethereal dream? Who we are and what we become in life are mostly dependent on the decisions that we take. Be it managing business decisions, our problem solving capabilities or personal choices, what we decide determines the course of our life.

Mike O'Neill, former Managing Director, Whirlpool Australia, speaks of three essential decisions and the impact they had on his career as well as his life. I have added my take on the three decisions.

Severing ties with a long-standing partner company:

When Whirlpool in Australia was established, the company looked for comparatively small partners who had similar values, focus in life and ambition. At that time there was one key supplier who started off with Whirlpool with the very first shipment that came out of the US. That supplier had all along assisted the company to a great extent, given crucial information and in the process shown a great deal of support. Over a period of time he helped Whirlpool save thousands of dollars. However, much later because of a significant business decision, Mike, the then CEO of Whirlpool had to sever ties with this supplier and move on to having newer ties with other partners.

My Take:

I feel Mike took a tough business decision which was the need of the hour and corresponded well with the work-flow of the company. When he is at the helm of an international company like Whirlpool he cannot afford to take decisions from an emotional point of view. We in our life need to take tough career decisions at certain junctures. Those might sometimes appear cruel but if we are ambitious then we just can't help but take such a tough stand. It might not be a very sentimental decision but a rational one indeed.

Advising a good employee in the company to move on:

Mike himself admits that it is tough separating from a partner but tougher separating from an employee. And more so when that employee had served the company in a difficult period and shown a lot of promise. The concerned person had progressed quite a lot and in short could be called a model employee. Then Mike himself gave him another profile to prove his merit. However, the other role was not suited for him and it was tough for that employee to adjust. It was clear things were not working out favourably for this employee and he did not seem to be having a future in Whirlpool any more. It was at this point of time that Mike met him personally and advised him to move on. It was a tough stand but everything needs to be seen from an organisational point of view.

My Take:

Mike's decision might appear very strange for some people. But instead of getting judgmental we must all understand that professional life is much different from the personal one. In professional spheres no one is interested in making personal bonds and getting carried away. It all depends upon professional relationships and acting according to what is best for one's career. Even we have to be tough and take many such difficult decisions in life. We might get criticised for our actions but then for our career such compromises have to be made.

Moving on from the 'CEO of life':

It is quite obvious that when you have started a company you are bound to have more than a professional relationship with the company. With time you grow to develop a personal bond. And the longer you stay in a company the attachment gets stronger than ever. So it was indeed difficult for Mike to finally say goodbye to the company. But it was an important decision for him as well as the company and when someone is working in a global position as he was the decision simply had to be taken.

My Take:

Life takes us through various courses and it is during these junctures that we need to implement different strategies that will boost our career prospects. If we are working in one place for a longer period of time we tend to develop a comfort zone of our own. This is highly disturbing because it saps away our ambitions, making us stagnated in the process. What we had learnt during our educational training of planning to move ahead at every point in time, starts diminishing. This was perhaps one of the reasons why Mike had to let go.

I feel it all starts from the very basics. Our small choices at every juncture of life helps us in managing business decisions later in life. The courses that we take up, the tools that we use, the consultants from whom we seek advice, everything leads us to make who we are later in life.

Arindom is a final year IIM student. He loves reading blogs and learning about the lives of CEOs. He feels learning more about the lives of CEOs will help him in managing business decisions later in life.