Stop Driving Away Your Producers!
Justin started his career with a large commercial bank. He liked the environment and he was doing well, but he also had ideas that he believed could dramatically increase the profitability of the bank’s legacy systems. These ideas received only lukewarm reception from senior executives at his firm, so he decided to leave and launch his own company, an electronic marketplace for trading financial instruments. It was such a success that within a few years it was bought by a large integrated financial institution, which offered Justin a senior position.Once again, Justin was back in the ranks of a financial giant. This time, given the circumstances, he was sure he would have recognition, support, and control over the platform he had created. But after the deal was finalized, Justin was placed in a managerial role, with no direct control over that platform. That was frustrating, but nothing compared to the fury Justin felt when the company announced that it was developing the next generation of the same electronic marketplace — and put someone else in charge. The new leader, who was known as a high performer and a fast-track leader, consulted Justin. But none of Justin’s most important suggestions made their way into the project plan.