Jordan's Story

The company’s performance needs to pick up. It’s been lagging behind expectations for a year. 

That’s what Jordan heard from the Chairman of the Board after the last board meeting. 

Jordan and the Chairman agree that it’s not about strategy. It’s about execution. 

As Jordan returned to the corner office with a fresh cup of coffee, he was thinking about the challenge.

Jordan considered himself a good leader. He has built strong performing teams throughout his entire career. His method is straightforward. He meets with everyone. He shares a clear vision. He enlists their commitment to help in specific, tangible ways. And they execute well. 

The only problem is that, now, Jordan’s direct team consists solely of the fourteen executives who are part of his leadership group. They all sit together in the executive suite. 

They’re completely in synch. That’s not the problem.

The challenge is that 99.9% of all of the practical decisions that impact the company’s real performance are decided by people who aren’t part of the executive team. It’s the 1,200 other leaders and managers, spread across the country and around the globe, who make day-to-day decisions. And it’s the 10,000 individuals who actually execute the strategies. Sometimes they execute with intuition and precision. Other times not.

He can’t oversee the 800 customer service reps. Or the 300 sales members. Or the 280 engineers. Or the 140 accountants. Or the other thousands of employees. Each of them must make the right decisions, dozens of times every day. 

His executive team works because they operate within clear structures—owned responsibilities, transparent alignment, visible accountability. But those structures were built for proximity. 

He needs something similar that scales. 

And that’s what this section of TRM is about.