• Insights

In the first part of the series we discussed when should an entrepreneur bring a professional on board and what all should he keep in mind as he selects one. Continuing herein, we shall discuss what else becomes a business owners’ worry as he decides to professionalize.

The family structure helps to pass on shared values over an extended period of time. A professional brings with him his own set of values that guide his work ethics. The success of the relationship between an owner and a professional usually hinges on the extent to which they connect on values.

Once, speaking with a CEO of a consumer goods company I asked him to share the key to his success. He was the first professional CEO of that company. “Right connection,” he quipped. He and the owner shared similar thinking and belief. The owner was extremely ambitious and energetic, valued speed and the ability to make deals. So did the CEO. The parallelism of these qualities was the key to CEO’s success.

On the other hand, I came across the owner and MD of an infrastructure company who was very reluctant to get a professional to his HR department. Probing further, I got to know that some time back he had hired a seasoned HR professional to help him improve the work environment for his people.

After four weeks, the very first recommendation that the professional made was that the owner changes his top management and fires some very old hands at the business. Result: The HR Head was out in six months. What the professional did not gather was that most owners value loyalty and would like to take their loyal people along as far as possible. So, while his diagnosis may have had merit, to advocate change was definitely not a good start.

Where do we find professionals who have similar values and who are an answer to all the questions that haunt a business owners’ mind?
When hiring professionals, an owner has to get personally involved. There is no easy blueprint to professionalizing. It is a mutual learning process; the experience and appetite of an owner to let go and the ability of a professional to take the baton and carry it further. Here are some questions an owner should answer as he prepares for professionalizing:
 Why do I want to professionalize?
 What will I do when I hand over the role to a professional?
 Which values will I not compromise on?
 Will I respect and trust the expertise, skill and judgement of a professional?
 Am I ready to persevere a tough selection process and follow due rigour?
 Will I be committed to his or her success?

Last, but not the least, what qualities does an owner want in a professional? In an owner’s words, “I would like to have the one who has knowledge/expertise, respects my values, can carry forward my expectations, will commit to my business and deliver results.”

MITALI BOSE is Managing Consultant & Building Effective Organizations (BEO) Practice Leader, Hay Group

©Entrepreneur September 2011

Tags:
CEO, entrepreneur, mitali bose, professionalization, proffestionalize, values