Intersect Investment Company (IIC) is a financial investment firm that has struggled to regain the trust of their clients as well as their constituents on Wall Street. Since the terrorist attacks in New York on September 11, 2001, the financial industry has been nothing short of chaotic. Frank Jeffers is the CEO of Intersect Investment Company and is looking to implement a “customer intimacy” model that will help Intersect become successful in the future. Frank Jeffers has selected a leadership team consisting of Janet Angelo; Executive Vice President of Marketing and Sales, Tomas Hardy; Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Lyn Chen; Vice President of Sales, Joel Contino; Vice President of Marketing, and Annie Sorrento; Director of Sales Operations. Intersect has a wealth of talent to draw from and simply needs to make sure staff are on board with the organizational changes being proposed.
Change can stretch an organization to and beyond the breaking point. Changes are seldom welcomed within most organizations and Intersect Investments is no different. Frank Jeffers has a vision of where he thinks Intersect needs to go; unfortunately not everyone on the team shares his vision. Jeffers wants Intersect to fully implement the new “customer intimacy” program within the next year and expects things to go according to his plan. According to Kreitner and Kinicki, “True change in any organization usually takes not only months but years to accomplish.” A leader willing to implement change must have a good understanding of the company and deep knowledge of some or even all of its processes. Along with extensive knowledge of the company this leader must also have the ability to understand the people in the organization. Frank Jeffers appears to posses the knowledge of the industry, but the human factor is proving to be a difficult challenge for him. This is why Janet Angelo was brought in to help make his vision a reality.
Janet Angelo has successfully implemented the “customer intimacy” model in two other companies. However, there was no mention of what the other companies where or their financial position at the time of their organizational change. It is possible that the companies may have simply been at the right time with their place in the industry to implement the change successfully, in which case Mrs. Angelo’s success may have been only situational (Kreitner and Kinicki, 2004). For change to occur in any company core knowledge of the change is required. Most of all it must be understood that not only is the change in the company to be considered, but also those who make up the company, internally and externally. According to Frank Jeffers, Intersect Investment must be morphed into a better company. Jeffers feels Intersect has the possibility to reach the rank of number three or better in the industry.
In order to successfully transform an organization the leader will have to be committed to being a transformational leader. To be a transformation leader requires a great deal of commitment and communication with the team. In the simulation Jeffers left his employees and leadership team with more questions than answers indicating that he does not fit the model of a transformation leader. He has failed to clearly communicate his vision to his staff or the process to making his vision a reality. Frank Jeffers has the proper business perspective in looking forward and anticipating what Intersect will need to accomplish to remain successful. Unfortunately he lacks the ability to convey the excitement of what he truly believes in. In order for Intersect to continue its success, it is imperative that a new attitude be adopted that minimizes stagnant thinking. One of the most difficult parts of being a CEO is mastering the ability to reset goals as necessary to keep up with changes in the market.