What is an Integrator? Part II

BY GINO WICKMAN ON OCTOBER 18, 2012 · 1 COMMENT

If you haven’t read my previous blog, “What is a Visionary?”, it’s a vital read before reading this one. With your accountability chart complete (click here to download the accountability chart), you will clearly see illustrated the need for an Integrator. This is the major function that all major functions report to. The intent of this blog is to clarify the function and the value of the Integrator role in your organization, as every organization must have an Integrator (a.k.a. President, COO, General Manager, Chief of Staff). An Integrator is the person who is the tie-breaker for the leadership team, is the glue for the organization, holds everything together, beats the drum (provides cadence), is accountable for the P&L results, executes the business plan, holds the Leadership Team accountable, and is the steady force in the organization. The Integrator also creates organizational clarity, communication, and consistency; typically (but not always) operates more on logic; drives results; forces resolution, focus, team unity, prioritization and follow-through; is the filter for all of the Visionary’s ideas; harmoniously integrates the Leadership Team; and helps to remove obstacles and barriers. If you are a Visionary forced to play the Integrator role because you’re stuck with nobody to free you up, the first step is to find someone in your organization, and if the right person isn’t in your organization, you must look outside your organization. In the meantime, you or someone must play the Integrator role on a temporary basis to the best of your ability until you fill the role with the right person in the right seat. If you are a partnership, co-running your business, typically one of you is an Integrator and the other is a Visionary, and co- running the business is causing confusion and complexity. If you will divide and conquer, you will create clarity, execute better, and get to your vision faster. If you are an Integrator who is confused about your role, use these two blogs (Part I and Part II) to clarify your (and your Visionary’s) role. Occasionally you are the rare combination of Visionary and Integrator. While this is rare, it does exist. If so, then simply collapse the two roles into one and illustrate it in your accountability chart as the Integrator role and go forward. By the way, there is a shortage of Integrators in the world for small businesses ($2–50 M) and plenty of Visionaries. Calling all Integrators! You have a place in the world.

What is a Visionary? Part I

BY GINO WICKMAN ON OCTOBER 15, 2012 · 1 COMMENT One of the most powerful EOS tools is the accountability chart. It’s powerful because it crystallizes the right structure (click here to download the accountability chart) and illustrates all available seats in your organization. In addition, it clarifies who reports to who and who is accountable for what. All that said, it also illuminates the Visionary and Integrator roles sitting atop the major functions of your business. (An organization has a Visionary about 50 percent of the time, and it must have an Integrator 100 percent of the time.) This blog is about helping to clarify the Visionary role (a.k.a. Founder, CEO, Chairman, President) and its value so that if you are one, or have one, you maximize the role’s potential. (In my next blog, I’ll clarify the Integrator role.) A Visionary is a person who has lots of ideas, is a strategic thinker, always sees the big picture, has a pulse on your industry, connects the dots, and researches and develops new products and services. The Visionary typically is the founding entrepreneur, operates more on emotion, and has ADD (but not always). This person is great with big relationships, the culture of the organization, and solving big, ugly problems (not the little ones); sees things others can’t; creates and holds the company vision; and is great at closing big deals. Visionaries are the creators of everything. On the other side, a Visionary isn’t good at holding people accountable, doesn’t like details, doesn’t like running the day to day of the business, isn’t good at following through, gets distracted easily, and is always trying to get 100 pounds in a 50- pound bag. All of this can create a lot of chaos for an organization. The idea here is that if you are a Visionary, your job is to delegate and elevate yourself to your true God-given skill set. This will require you to have a strong Integrator in place so that you can fully assume the Visionary role for your organization. This will free up your energy and creativity to grow your company, protect your vision, wow your customers, get more business, protect your culture, and stay three steps ahead of everyone, including the competition. One caution: It’s vital that, as a Visionary, you work close with and trust your Integrator, as your Integrator will serve as a great filter of all your ideas and protect the company from the chaos. It’s vital because your company can only move as fast as its capacity. Look for what an Integrator is in my next blog.