“We’re doing more with less. We also want to do things better.
We’re learning how to do the same or more with fewer people.”
Speaking of activities to improve operational excellence, the pres-
ident of a Baby Bell told us, “This is where we think the game will
be won.” The CEO of the top Sprint PCS affiliate has a mantra
that can be quoted by anyone in the organization: “We will be the
standard by which others are measured.” And operational excel-
lence is one of his foundational strategies.

Finally, companies are empowering their employees by getting

and keeping the right people, aligning those people with compa-
ny strategy, developing those people to become highly competent
and confident, and continuously reorganizing for success.

The CEO of an innovative e-business that survived the shake-

out in his industry said, “The trick is to get really good people who
have a passion for the business, keep them aligned and engaged,
and execute really, really well.” Another executive, the chief mar-
keting officer of a major wireless retailer, echoed these remarks.
“People almost always keep you up at night.” An executive at a
major pharmaceutical company summed up the importance of
people to any organization. “If you hire the right people, it’s hard
to screw them up,” he said. “They find ways to be successful.”

The concerns that keep executives up at night also drive their

purchasing decisions—in fact, all of their decisions. “Everything
flows from the business drivers,” says the president of an infor-
mation management company. So when executives meet with
salespeople, their radar is tuned in to how the salesperson can
help them meet the internal and external demands they face.

The challenge of selling to executives is further complicated by

the significantly compressed planning horizon companies now
maintain. The executives in our research study report that the long-
range planning horizon in their organizations has shrunk from five
years to two years. Short-term planning now covers just six
months. Purchases and other decisions must deliver results within
those time frames to be considered successful. This abbreviated out-
look is due in part, no doubt, to the soft economy from 2000 to
2004. However, the explosion of available information and the
acceleration of the product development cycle will likely continue.
For the near term, the focus will remain on the near term.

20

Understand