Balancing the Forest and the Trees

As I was hiking this past summer I realized that a key ability needed to successfully lead an all-day or multi-day hike is no different than one of the abilities leaders need to successfully lead their organization.  That ability is being able to balance seeing the forest from the trees. 

This parallel reference really struck me on one of our longer hikes.  We found that if we spent too much time just looking out ahead at where we wanted to end up (stuck seeing the forest) we lost sight of what was directly in front of us.  It caused us to stumble over the stones beneath us and stub our toes. 

On the flip side, when we only spent time watching where we stepped and keeping our eye on the trail right in front of us (stuck seeing the trees) we ended up on the wrong path and got lost because we missed seeing that the real trail turned off in a different direction.

Some of my colleagues and clients have asked:
Isn’t a leader supposed to be a visionary? Don’t they provide vision and direction?  Shouldn’t they be keeping their eye on the forest? 

Other colleagues and clients have asked:
Isn’t a leader supposed to understand and acknowledge what it takes to achieve the end result?  Isn’t a leader supposed to help eliminate obstacles along the way?  Shouldn’t they be keeping their eye on the trees?
My answer to all: Yes.  Talented leaders must figure out a way to strike a balance.

Here are two current business examples* to help make the point.  Let’s look at Dieter Zetsche of DaimlerChrysler and David Mott of Medimmune.  Both of these CEOs took office in third quarter of 2000.  Both have the opportunity to take advantage of new opportunities and move their companies forward.  While Zetsche gives us an example of how to balance the forest and the trees; Mott gives us an example of what happens when you’re unbalanced and keep your head in the trees.

DaimlerChrysler’s current president and chief executive officer of the Chrysler unit, Dieter Zetsche, is balancing seeing the forest - making Chrysler the top American auto-maker - from the trees - holding onto the market share already gained and continuing to focus on customer needs to create new and innovative solutions. Since becoming CEO Chrysler pulled out of the red and began turning a profit in 2004.  Their market share rose .28% while competitors were losing market share (according to Autodata Corp.).

David Mott, current chief executive officer of Medimmune Inc. seems to be mired in the day-to-day dealings of patent lawsuits and problems with the FDA concerning overaggressive marketing.  Without keeping balanced on the bigger picture, Mott missed an opportunity to increase their market share on the flu-vaccine.  Since becoming CEO Medimmune’s stock has decreased by almost 60%.

When we were hiking, it took conscious effort to move between paying attention to the forest – our goal miles ahead of us, and paying attention to the trees - the path right under our feet and two steps in front of us.  When we got off balance it was noticeable because something would happen that would slow down our progress to ultimately achieving our goal.  This same conscious movement between two different points of focus is what is needed in business.  The ability to see the entire forest and in the next blink of an eye see each individual tree is a critical leadership ability for today’s leaders.

What do you do to balance between the forest and the trees?  Next time you’re in the throws of creating your strategic plan think about what might be going on right under your nose.  Are you likely to stumble and trip if you don’t look down?  When you’re up to your elbows dealing with what comes up daily stop for a moment to look out at your ultimate objective and make sure you’re still on the right path.

*These examples are not intended as a commercial for or slander against either organization.  Both examples were recently sited in Fast Company magazine for different reasons and were found to be relevant for the purposes of providing a current example.  I could continue to site examples, however for the sake of length, these seem sufficient.