NHRD Journal - National HRD Network

In expectation of such a reaction, rightly or
otherwise, management teams and their CEO
begin to take very business focused, hard
numbers and 'no nonsense' approach. This
invariably, would work at max, as a short
term remedy.
Organizations undergoing the IPO journey
must, must accept two maxims -
Maxim 1. Culture will Change
Maxim 2. Performance Enhancement
The sooner these are internalized and accepted,
the less the transition period for the
Organization and greater will be the focus on
creating shareholder value. No matter how
much Google founders claim that the fun
culture will not change, Several recent IPO
organizations have proved that a dramatic
change in culture does happen.
Acceptance of the above two maxims provides
an opportunity to pro-actively redefine the
culture, retain the fun stuff, retain the heritage
if feasible and prepare the organization and
employees for what's the new landscape, what
will be different, how dynamic will the
performance expectation be, what additional
resources and infrastructure will be made
available and how the concept of
accountability and incentive compensation
will look like.
The erstwhile paradigm of success and career
growth will now have a new meaning and a
combination of these changes emerges the new
'avtaar '.
A visionary CEO can use it to his advantage
and provide the leadership to steward the Ship
through the 'perceived' turbulent waters to an
ocean where the dynamics are not the same as
cruising along the
River Nile.
The dynamics of a result-oriented organization
committed to creating shareholder value thus
becomes a way of life rather than a maze of
ambiguity and "we shall cross that bridge
when it comes".
Often an IPO is planned and perceived, as
merely a capital-raising exercise for definitive
business needs. And apparently it is so, there
is no denying the fundamental purpose.
However the dilution of ownership, the
expectation of institutional investors who in
turn have to serve their commitments! And it's
this cyclical commitment to capital, which
makes your own business relatively smaller
than it is. Your business initially is reported
'big' in terms of market capitalization at IPO
time, and yet in the cycle of the capital flow
which the IPO has now aligned you, your
organization is now a part of that capital flow
and you have to play your piece in the
orchestra.
Organizational Readiness eventually happens,
and if it more by design in a pre-planned
manner then your influence over it is likely to
be greater than "as we go along agenda". The
management team needs to regroup and
complete its process of acceptance and the
redefinition of the two maxims. Having then
planned a road map, the CEO can decide the
pace and timing of communication and
execution of Change depending upon his
assessment of the organization readiness.
Caution has to be exercised so as not to create
panic of an oncoming tsunami ! Each CEO in
his style and assessment should be able to lay
the course, as how will your organizations
graduate from one league to another. This
obviously requires building the necessary road
map and the support systems.
In conclusion, the sustainability of success
desired by way of IPO is through the nonfinancial
metrics and the credibility of the
senior management team to execute on it. The
IPO journey is a vehicle, which prepares you
to leap frog to higher business goals, and in
this aspirational evolution, success may be
proportional to the level of preparation and
execution.
November 2007 NHRD Journal 99