The Background:
Charley Newton is an “up and comer” for the Cabot Corporation. For the past 10 years, he has handled a number of varied assignments for the company, ranging from assistant general manager at a regional office to assistant vice president of the Northwest Region. He has just been appointed vice president of the Southeast Region (which includes the 10 southeastern states.) It is an important position and is viewed as a stepping-stone to an executive appointment in Cabot’s corporate headquarters in Chicago.
Cabot is a large agricultural firm responsible for marketing farm products such as corn herbicides, pest control chemicals, and fertilizers throughout the world. Cabot ranks third in size in the field and is widely respected organization with a long history of service to the world’s farmers. It is viewed as a “good company.” Share holders and Wall Street analysts usually say that Cabot stock is a good buy.
Charley will be responsible for coordinating the activities of the 26 divisional offices throughout the region. Each divisional office houses about 10 employees. Usually there are two or three salespersons, a few clerical employees, and one or two service representatives who provide general representation to farmers.
The 26 offices are geographically dispersed throughout the region. Each is held accountable for sales targets and customer satisfaction. In the past, divisional offices have operated pretty much…on their own.
The Case
Charley has inherited the worst performing region in the company. Given that there are so many farmers in the southeast, the region should be the best, at least, in terms of total sales. But, it is actually last among the six regions. Each of the 26 offices has viewed itself as autonomous, not really a part of the total regional effort.
For many years, the previous regional vice president was “going through the motions.” He had been employed at Cabot for 40 years and for the past five, was on “cruise control.” The company offered the individual a “golden parachute” and he is now playing golf in Sarasota.
The company president brought Charley to Chicago and offered him the promotion to regional vice president. The president told Charley, “You really have to clean things up down there.”
It was clear to Charley that his future is the company will depend on his making sure that the region moves more into the mainstream relative to performance.
Not only will Charley have to build a team, but the bottom line must improve…Chabot must sell more of its products in the region.
The Task:
Charley has moved to the regional office in Birmingham. He knows that he must establish a communication system and build a team.
What should he do? How should he spend his first eight weeks on the job?