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boost and some celebration by the “good ole boys” back home while, in the
relatively unlikely event of a Northern victory the whole of the Southern
States would become effectively defenceless. Longstreet was listened to
briefly and then ignored. His colleagues wanted short-term glory regard-
less of the risk. The unlikely happened and as a result the South was
smashed. Longstreet argued throughout his military career that decisions
in the short term should be founded on the effect that the result was likely
to have on the long-term outcome and that short-term thinking was a dan-
gerous lure. Should a CEO not have a similar strategy?

Charismatic leaders are seen to fail when they choose to pocket short-
term benefits at the cost of long-term prosperity. For example, business
process re-engineering (BPR) has too often degenerated into a head-cut-
ting tactic that is seen to fail to deliver in at least 70 per cent of cases. In
the short term it may deliver reduced costs and, with a little creative
accounting (or even false accounting in at least one notorious case), what
appears to be a considerable short-term growth in profits. In the longer
term, however, evidence has been produced that indicates that those firms
that either ignore BPR or use it strictly to improve processes leading to
better customer service at lower cost make, on average six times the prof-
its of those “headcount-cutters” that survive in the same sector. This is
why, particularly in the United States, the early popularity of BPR created
a breed of peripatetic “axe men” who chopped away and moved on after
eighteen months to sell their options and leave the corporation haemor-
rhaging in their wake. The company that had real leadership left to
staunch the flow was fortunate in the extreme. Charismatic leadership and
defection have nothing in common and the charismatic leader keeps his or
her eye on the important long-term survival and prosperity.

Questions for discussion
1. How do we ensure that all decision-makers have the skills and the

motivation to consistently balance the short- and long-term needs of
the business?
2. Have we communicated the long-term goals convincingly and
inspirationally enough so that those who will have to make the effort
to achieve them are willing to make personal sacrifices when
necessary in the short term?
3. What additional pressures and demands on the top team will a
balanced focus bring about in the short term?
4. What can we do today to reduce or eliminate such pressures and
demands?

Choice 2
Keep your focus on the strategy. Avoid anything that diverts attention
from the mission.

Commentary
A great choice, if and only if, when making it you have checked to ensure

“Leadership is what leaders DO!” 103