A Tale of Two Buses

Why leadership counts

BY: Bryn Meredith

Once upon a time there were two entrepreneurs, Kevin and Doug.

Both had just completed business school and were feeling proud of the MBAs they had earned. They had thought about careers in a traditional role, but with an entrepreneurial spirit burning away inside of them, they were both eager to put some of their ideas to the test and launch their own businesses.

Kevin had just received a substantial inheritance from his grandfather’s estate and funding to get going would not be a problem. He was a bright young fellow and had some good ideas for getting a new business off the ground.

Doug had needed to work as many part-time jobs as he could find for as long as he could remember and had saved hard to put himself through college. Funds were not easy to come by for starting up his new business, but he had a lot of people who believed in him, and he had been able to raise enough cash to get his new venture off of the ground. He was also a very bright young man and had a clear vision of what it would take to make his idea a success.

Neither had any real experience in leading people, but both had studied the book Good to Great by Jim Collins. The one thing they both remembered from that book was that one of the most important things for a business is to get the right people sitting in the right seats on the bus.

They both paid a lot of attention to this and spent valuable time and money to recruit the talent they felt they needed, and to make sure they were all positioned in the right seats on the bus. As leaders of their new venture and the driving force behind getting it going, they asked themselves, “Where should I sit?” Coincidentally, they both decided that in order to show some good leadership they would sit in the driver’s seat and actually drive the bus to work themselves.

On the first morning both Kevin’s new team and Doug’s new team met at a pre-arranged pick-up point. The pick-up point that Kevin had chosen was not the most convenient for his team, but it was the most convenient for him. He felt that, as he was in charge, he should be the one who should have to travel the least. Doug, on the other hand, had selected a point that was the most convenient for his team.

On the first morning all the seats were full on both buses, and both teams were enthusiastic to get going. Each bus was fitted with a TV screen. Kevin only allowed one station to be shown, the Business News channel. He thought it was important for his team to be up-to-date with the latest business news.

Doug, however, was happy for his team to choose whatever channel they wanted to watch and even to flip it around on different days so that everyone could have a chance to watch what they wanted. He felt that there was enough doom and gloom in the market, so if he could cheer his team up on the way in to work, they would arrive in a better frame of mind for the day ahead.

As time wore on noticeable differences began to emerge with the pattern of behaviour and habits of the two buses and their drivers. Kevin’s bus was never late. He left at exactly 7:30 am and if any members of his team were not there, they were expected to make their own way in. He felt that as he was providing the transport , the least they could do was show up on time.

Doug’s bus, on the other hand, was more flexible. Doug’s team all had his cell phone number. They knew that if an emergency occurred, they could simply call him and let him know whether they were on the way or not.

Kevin normally had his headset on and was catching up on calls by the time his team boarded the bus, acknowledging his team with only a raise of his eyebrows. Doug, however, greeted his team by their first name and with a jovial “Good morning”, often asking how their kids were doing.

Doug even had all the birthdays of his team members recorded, and celebrated them with muffins on the bus. Kevin didn’t allow food on the bus—he didn’t like the mess.

Kevin’s bus always took the exact same route despite the variations in traffic. Kevin’s thinking was that this was the route he had always taken. He knew he would not get lost, and since it had always worked well for him, why change it?

Kevin’s bus always took the exact same route despite the variations in traffic. Kevin’s thinking was that this was the route he had always taken. He knew he would not get lost, and since it had always worked well for him, why change it?

Doug, on the other hand, was always happy to experiment, to try different routes just for the fun of it. He enjoyed seeing which route was the quickest and if the traffic varied on different days. Doug liked change and wanted his team to see that he was willing to experiment.

As the months went by, the team on Kevin’s bus started to change. Many original team members left, and new faces came and went, some quite quickly. Kevin struggled to fill the seats, and many were now empty. The mood on his bus was quite somber, but Kevin didn’t see that it was his job to motivate them. After all, he was providing them with a good job and paying a fair salary in tough times. He thought they should just be happy with that.

Doug’s problem was quite different. His bus was getting overcrowded. His team was growing and he was constantly being asked by new people if they could ride on his bus. Even a few people from Kevin’s bus were discreetly asking Doug if there was any chance they could switch buses. He was almost at the point where he needed to operate a second bus. This would be a good thing, he thought, as he had already trained some more drivers. He often let them take turns in the driver’s seat, especially when he needed to be out of town. This was quite different for Kevin, who did not think it was appropriate for anyone else to drive and was always worried about what would happen if he could not be there.

As more time went by, Kevin realized that the future of his new venture was not looking good. He had spent a lot of time in the beginning making sure that he had the right people in the right seats and could not understand why his bus was so empty now. Doug, however, was energized by the success of his new venture. He realized that he was even more energized by the success of his team and made sure they did not become stagnant by staying in the same seats for too long. Eventually Kevin’s bus simply failed to show up.

What lessons can obviously be surmised from Kevin and Doug’s stories? That the journey is just as important as the destination, and that while it is important to have the right people in the right seats in a company, it is most important to have a good leader.

Bryn Meredith is Vice President of Sales and Marketing at Bluepoint Leadership Development. He can be reached by email at brynmeredith@bluepointleadership.com.

Article first published in Your Workplace magazine in issue 11-5