While other business leaders wrestle with the issue of economic development, Ted Ford accepts the challenge with relish. The president
and CEO of TechColumbus enjoys entering into a situation with a fresh vision and shaping challenges into opportunities as he leads his
nonprofit organization toward technology-based economic development in Central Ohio. TechColumbus was formed through the merger
of the Columbus Technology Council and the Business Technology Center, and today, its 253 member organizations represent more
than100,000 employees. Smart Business spoke with Ford about leadership, communication and thinking big.
Rally your troops. I believe in surrounding
myself with talented, capable people, any
one of which could probably replace me if
they needed to, with enough experience on
the job. Mobilize as much energy, creativity
and effort as possible toward the outcome
you’re trying to achieve.
Be very clear about the critical competencies you
have to have inside your organization to succeed. What’s your market look like, who are
you trying to sell to, what’s the best combination of skills and talent you can find in
somebody, and where can you go look for
that. You can come up with your ideal candidate by doing that.
The challenge is not so much being able
to figure out that ideal candidate but to
convince somebody who has those skills
to join you. You have to make it interesting
to them because nine times out of 10, the
ideal candidate you’ve pictured in your
mind is probably the ideal candidate that a
lot of different companies want. Chances
are, you’re going to have to recruit that
person from another company so you have
to make it compelling for them to make
that shift.
The last thing I’d want to do is hire a
clone of me because there are things I do
well and things I’m not good at. I need to
supplement myself and supplement others
here so as we hire additional people, we
create a diverse set of skills that work
together as a team.
Don’t analyze things too much. There’s a certain level of analysis that has to happen,
and then you have to act decisively. Have
the confidence and certainty to go forward
and make a commitment along those lines.
You have to do it, and if you make mistakes, you’ve got to adjust.
Inspire passion. You’ve got to believe in what
you’re doing. You’ve got to be passionate
about it if you want to recruit top people. If
you don’t have the passion, you need to
find out how to get it.
I’ve been able to assemble a very strong
team here based on the potential of our
organization. We’re going to have a significant impact on this region, and if you’re part of the team, you’re going to be part of
that success. That’s very motivating for
some people.
Some people are purely motivated by
how much they’re going to make, and that’s
not necessarily your best hire.
Be objective. You’ve got to be a little bit cold-blooded about your own situation and take
a hard look at where you are, what you’re
accomplishing, what you’re doing well and
what you’re not doing well.
Sometimes it helps to have outside folks
who will be honest with you and keep you
honest. Some organizations, if they don’t
have a board, will have an advisory group
whose job it is to come together once a
quarter and look at the business as a board
would and provide impartial feedback.
It’s always good to get that, somebody’s
who’s got enough distance and objectivity
that they can look at it in a different way.
No matter how smart you think you are,
ultimately you are deep into what you’re
doing, and you don’t have the perspective
that somebody from the outside can bring.
You’d want somebody in finance that
could take a look at how you’re managing
and applying your assets and resources.
Somebody in marketing can look at how
you’re presenting yourself in the market
and approaching your customers.
Somebody with a technical background
can look at your technology strategy. In
some communities, there are organizations that will assist companies putting together
an advisory board.
Encourage communication. You have to be
accessible to your employees, as well as
having structured settings where you can
talk about company strategy and goals, at a
high level and an operational level.
The most successful company is going to
be one where the employees feel ownership for the objectives that are being
sought. There has to be a way to engage
employees in the cause and get them excited about it.
You can set up compensation systems
where there’s an upside if the organization
achieves the objectives you’ve been talking
about. If it’s strictly compensation-related
though, my experience has been you don’t
get nearly the energy or the creativity you
do if people actually buy in to it on a more
fundamental level.
There’s a certain excitement that goes
with the unpredictability of shaping the
future. When you get people energized that
way, they’re much more creative. They
spend a lot more time doing what you need
them to do, and they’re a lot more productive at it.
Think big, act big and be real. Combine a big
vision with a willingness to step out and
make something happen, and at the same
time, understand what’s achievable. Reach
as far as you can reach, but don’t over-reach.
When you get analytical and realistic
about what you’re dealing with, you can
figure out where your stretch opportunity
is, how far you can really go, and try to set
expectations around that. You don’t want
to set expectations that are so lofty that
they can’t be achieved and people become
discouraged.
There’s an old saying from Ray Bradbury,
the science fiction author, which was, ‘First
you jump off the cliff, and you build wings
on the way down.’ That’s a fine saying, but
probably not the way you want to run a
business.
HOW TO REACH: TechColumbus, (614) 340-1697 or
www.techcolumbus.org