ALL HANDS EMAIL:
The most interesting part of this email isn't that leadership changed the name from "First Friday" to "All Hands." It's the wording itself: "We'll discuss where we're headed, how we'll win, and how we'll work together to get there." That's a great message for a company that's apparently still trying to figure out where it's headed.
Think about that for a minute. Five months ago we were told the new structure was the result of months of planning, analysis, research, modeling, workshops, consultant input, and executive alignment. We were told there was a strategy. We were told there was a roadmap. We were told this was the answer.
Now we're being told we're going to discuss where we're headed.
Those are two very different things.
If leadership had confidence in the structure, we'd be talking about execution. If leadership had confidence in the strategy, we'd be talking about results. If leadership had confidence in the decisions made over the past several months, we'd be talking about growth, adoption gains, customer wins, and operational improvements.
Instead, we're still talking about direction.
That's what should concern employees.
The most successful organizations I've been part of didn't spend this much time explaining themselves. They spent their time supporting customers, developing products, empowering employees, and producing measurable results. The results told the story. The results created alignment.
Here, it feels like the opposite. Constant explanations. Constant repositioning. Constant alignment meetings. Constant reminders about the strategy.
At some point, employees start asking a simple question:
If the strategy is working, why does it need so much explaining?
The reality is that trust isn't built through presentations. Trust isn't built through slogans. Trust isn't built through renamed meetings.
Trust is built when leadership's predictions become reality.
Unfortunately, many of the predictions made around the May reorganization have not matched what employees are experiencing on the ground. That's why skepticism continues to grow. Not because employees are resistant to change, but because they've spent months watching reality diverge from what they were promised.
The challenge leadership faces today isn't convincing people that we'll win. The challenge is convincing people that the people making the decisions actually understand why so many of the previous decisions haven't produced the outcomes they expected.
Because at some point, employees stop evaluating presentations and start evaluating results.
And that's where the real conversation begins.
Help... Cengage is sinking!