How to Tell Your Boss He's Wrong

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  travisvan07/18/08 Report as spam
  1

  re. CEOs who can't take crticism

  Perhaps this person was better off for having been fired. It's sad how common it is for C-level folks to have the thinnest skin in the company. It seems like good leaders should enlist feedback whenever possible (ESPECIALLY criticism) so that - per their utmost responsibility to the company - they can right the ship. There are too many fragile egos at the helm out there ... more intent on fulfilling whatever prophecy / hallucination they have for the "company strategy" than in confronting reality and adjusting accordingly. I feel sorry for people that spend 5-10 years of their lives working for bosses that need everything diplomatically phrased / sold to them by their own people. That's no way to spend a career, and there are plenty of good leaders out there that don't require tiptoeing and delicate handling to open their ears / eyes.

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine07/21/08 Report as spam
  2

  Bad Bosses

  Nothing is sure in life except death, taxes and bad management.

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  Melpo07/21/08 Report as spam
  3

  CEOs are entitled

  It's possible that the CEO hired him because he thought the guy would be a "yes man." Either consciously or subconsciously, he was looking for someone who would do exactly what he said to do and not question his orders.
  
  CEOs are entitled to run the company the way they want to. If they fail, they answer to the board, not to their sales people.
  
  I would suggest a Step 5 - Start thinking about Plan B. If your CEO is absolutely resolute, what are you going to do about it? Toe the line and fail with the rest of the company? Do your own thing and hope that you are right and get a chance to prove it before they fire you? Or, start looking for a new opportunity elsewhere?

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  Geoffrey James, Sales Machine07/21/08 Report as spam
  4

  Yes Men

  The choice when dealing with a boss who wants a "yes" man is either to leave, or to convince your boss that your idea is actually his idea. The latter strategy is not too difficult, since most bosses who want "yes" men are by nature idea thieves. But I'm not sure that's what happened here. I think the guy simply wrote a memo that implied that the boss was stupid and popped it on his desk without much preparation. That's always a mistake, even with an open-minded boss.

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  spettis07/21/08 Report as spam
  5

  If you can't beat em, tell others

  I agree with the fact that there is a proper "way" to tell your boss he/she is terrible. I took a look at this story twice-- couple points to remember
  1) Our writer took over a previously FAILED area.
  2) He, although not the greatest approach taken, put things on paper that mentioned the cause,effect, and change agent to fix #1.
  
  I think the problem here was that the CEO realized that if this report "got out" to anyone else, they would soon realize that our writer should have taken his spot. This happens more often than not where we have a smart boss, and smarter employees. A smart boss beeds smarter employees to make his/her life easier. I was always told that in being a manager you did not have to be the smarter businessman, just the better one.
  
  
  Consider this firing the opportunity to tell others about your experience and watch this territory fail once again.

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  mrosenthal07/22/08 Report as spam
  6

  RE: How to Tell Your Boss He's Wrong

  Unfortunately I have to agree with this advice. I long for a time when sales skills can be solely directed to customers outside the walls of actual organization. When true debate and collaboration can occur between reports and their directs both focused on the overall good of the company. Does this kind of communication only occur in the movies??
  
  BTW - I highly recommend Manager Tools podcasts for some great insight.

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  Ajibola07/24/08 Report as spam
  7

  RE: How to Tell Your Boss He's Wrong

  Wow!
  
  Excellent response. I have been having this problem with my CEO for months and finally he is begining to understand my point of view but with a lot of fighting and arguments. I tried this route once got it from one of your earlier posts but not in this format. It did not work for me. Maybe I did not execute it well enough or maybe I also let my ego get in the way. I believe the latter was the result of it not working.
  
  I would like to say that for me selling inside is difficult, because for years I have believed that we on the inside all had the same agenda and our egos could be parked at the door so we could make progress. But the last six months have taught me a lesson in life, sell on the inside like you would sell on the outside. Difficult, but can be done but it puts alot of strain on relationships and the organization. You know we do not live with the customer so if for a few hours a day you need to keep him sweet till he/she buys your idea no wahala(means no problem a Nigerian Phrase) and even if he/she is too stubborn to see clearly its no skin off your nose. But when your boss is making big mistakes it gets too you because it affects you personally. I am speaking from experience. You may be enjoying your job but he is stuck in tunnel vision doing things the same old way watching the competition making the same mistakes and benchmarking the best in the industry without really looking at the issues as concern your particular business.
  
  I like your present suggestion and will give it a try. Its funny I was reading about tunnel vision recently and said I would send it to him. I say it all the time think out side the box throw the box away but I think he thinks its a manner of speaking not a way of acting.
  
  Great post.