Kent Stuckey is not a fan of the rock-star CEO mentality. The chairman
and CEO of Columbus’ Internet Transaction Solutions Inc. doesn’t believe that when a CEO enters a meeting
with a great idea, everyone should drop
down and worship it.
“It’s got to be community facilitation,” he says. “We need a choir,
not a lead singer.”
ITS’ 75 employees work with
companies to accept electronic
payments from customers. The
company has grown revenue
from $4.4 million in 2003 to $12.3
million in 2005, with a 2006 estimate of $18 million.
Smart Business spoke with
Stuckey about how he manages
his Inc. 500 company.
Q: What does it take to grow a
company?
It requires both a clear vision
of where you’re going and the
ability to fine-tune your vision.
People often say you need a
clear vision and a commitment
to that vision. In my experience, your vision can make all
the sense in the world and still
fail.
You’ve got to have your ear to
the ground, look at what is
really needed in the marketplace and make adjustments
so you’re providing to the market something that’s meaningful that they want
and need.
Q: How do you keep growth under control?
Early on, a member of our team
brought to my attention a book by Verne
Harnish called “Mastering the Rockefeller Habits.” It’s a concise summary of
a number of principles that you would
be taught in an MBA program.
We adopted it as a foundation to share
common terminology and for us to
achieve alignment so everyone understands our objectives and works together toward achieving them.
A key point in the book involves
rhythm. My management meets every
morning in a huddle, and certain data
metrics are reported on every day. The
morning huddle is extremely important;
I would never be anywhere close to as
smart as my whole team is. [It’s more
effective] to try and make decisions with
our big brain, rather than my little one.
It’s a stand-up, 15- to 20-minute [meeting]. We report on our data metrics. We
identify any bottlenecks so those can be
addressed right away and any exceptional opportunities or issues on which we
should be getting input. If anything’s bigger than we can deal with in huddle, then
we schedule a meeting promptly to sit
down and work through the issue.
Part of the rhythm idea is to take quick
action. Otherwise, things get bigger, or
are perceived to be bigger or more challenging than they are.
Q: How has this benefited your company?
We have a healthy respect for our priorities. Everybody can have a different
opinion — and there are appropriate
channels to express your own opinion —
but once we establish priorities, we have
to all be committed to them.
All our energies have to be aimed at the
target and no place else, regardless of
your opinion. We have very high morale,
excellent commitment and outstanding
alignment, by virtue of this
process that we pursue.
Most companies hit a wall and
stop their growth because all too
often, they don’t re-create themselves. If you’ve got three people
in a company and nobody lets go
of any responsibility, you’re never
going to have more than three people in your company.
You have to keep redefining roles,
over and over again, so your scope
of responsibility narrows but the
depth of your expertise and performance grows.
Q: What can prevent a company from
growing?
Lack of clear direction, lack of
alignment and resistance to change.
Frankly, I could give you a hundred
reasons because it’s so much easier
to fail than to succeed.
Q: How can a CEO survive a bad situation?
Don’t be afraid to require commitment to the team goals. If a company
is in trouble, chances are, you’ll need to
determine who’s committed to team
objectives and who, for the interest of
all, should move on.
Unless there are some really tough
external market conditions, a company
is likely failing because of lack of clear
direction and lack of alignment among
the team. If you’re providing some service or product demanded by the market,
it’s a matter of how efficiently you can
deliver.
It comes down to alignment and good
decision-making. If you’ve got your team
pulling in different directions, you’re not
going to be much of a competitor.
HOW TO REACH: Internet Transaction Solutions Inc., (877)
272-9245 or www.transactionsolutions.com