Undercover Boss is a Re-Run

By John Malmo

http://stream.publicbroadcasting.net/production/mp3/wkno/local-wkno-905271.mp3

Undercover Boss is a Re-Run, by John Malmo.

Memphis, TN – Who would have believed you could make a TV hit out of a company's boss getting out of his office to see what's going on? And everyone would think it's new? This has been going on for centuries. And any boss who's not doing it deserves every unpleasant surprise coming his way.

More than forty years ago, Robert Townsend--who, with his brilliant advertising man Bill Bernbach, put Avis Rent-a-Car on the map--insisted that his executives periodically work behind the counter, as he did. In my own advertising agency days, I traveled with several CEOs of national companies going into the so-called "field." Harvard Business Review chronicles the actions of many well-known CEOs doing the same for decades. McDonald's CEO and every other executive used to spend one day a year behind the counter. I presume they still do.

You don't have to be a CEO. If you supervise more people than the ones you see every day, you need to get out there among them. And it's not just to see who might do something wrong. It's to listen to the people who know better ways to do their jobs. Watch procedures and policies in action that are out-of-date or wasteful. If all you know is what people tell you, you're in big trouble.

John Malmo is a Memphis marketing consultant with more than fifty years experience. He is former chairman of Archer Malmo Advertising and specializes today in helping small businesses grow. To reach Mr. Malmo - or to buy a copy of his book When on the Mountain There is no Tiger, Monkey Is King- go to http://www.johnmalmo.com.