The Case of the Temperamental Talent

The Case of the Temperamental Talent

By: Lawrence R. Rothstein (1992)

Ken’s Behavior

• Bob Salinger, CEO of Tidewater Corporation a manufacturer of luxury power boats
• Bob received a phone call from Morris Redstone (Tidewater’s reorganization leader) saying you better come down here immediately Ken Vaughn’s gone nuts
• Ken had thrown a chair at his CAD/CAM monitor, overturned his desk, and swept everything off his office bookshelves
• Bob reflected on how valuable Ken was to the company in fact he was the one who recruited Ken. However, lately Ken was having weird mood swings and a lot of the company was complaining about him
• Expect for some sudden outburst of anger Ken had become quiet and withdrawn
• Bob knew Ken was too valuable to lose but his behavior was impossible to ignore
• Morris claimed that Ken was jeopardizing the whole reorganization a move that Tidewater was staking on its survival
• The reorganization plan slashed overhead, eliminate some long-lasting jobs and collapsed certain department such as Ken’s into new divisions
• Ken has been hard to deal with ever since the company decided to fold his design division into product development

Morris’s (Leader of reorg), Harold’s (the head of HR), and Bob’s Discussion (CEO) About Ken

• Morris advises Bob to fire Ken because he is organizing others to not accept the reorganization plans
• Bob stated that if they fire Ken they would be in big trouble because Ken and his crew are amazing designers and if they fire Ken his whole crew will go with him and other competitors will take him immediately
• But Morris disagrees with keeping Ken and still advises Bob to fire him because he is hampering their reorganization plans
• Harold Bass (the head of human resources department) stated that Ken Is having personal issues it is not the reorganization that is causing Ken to act this way it is the stress of change
• Morris says people have to adjust to change the survival of the company is more important
• Harold says there are others like Ken I have had a lot of people come into my office to talk about how stressful this change has been
• Bob turned to Morris and said we are keeping Ken, Harold will give you some advice on how to deal with Ken and change him around
• However, Morris said he wouldn’t waste his time that he has other people to manage
• Both Morris and Harold agreed that Bob would have to talk to Ken about his behavior and make a decision to keep him or fire him as they have a personal connection

Is Ken Vaughn too valuable to fire or too volatile to keep? 4 experts consider Bob’s Options

Pierre Casse – A Professor for Management

• People like Ken are at their best creatively when they feel that they are special and necessary and can retain their independence and freedom
• By having Ken report to Morris Bob has shut off Ken’s creative jucies and destroyed his willingness to work
• Bob made a mistake to sending Ken to a therapist an action like that can only cause resentment
• Given the poor management at Tidewater firing Ken mat seem like the simplest solution but its nit the best
• The company cannot lose a high asset and nor can it send the signal to other employees that top management doesn’t care about the individuals
• The real problem is the way the company is handling its reorganization plans
• The solution is for Bob to get involved personally he needs to show Ken that he is valuable, unique and necessary
• Bob should involve Ken in a review of the overall reorganization situation
• Bob could give Ken a project to work on alone and give him an opportunity to reface and retool
• Because behavioral problems never go away on their own managers must learn to act at the first sign of trouble in many cases a situation like Ken’s is indicative of a larger problem within the company  

Steven Niven – Vice President of Human Resources

• Ken should be terminated immediately with a very generous severance package
• The decision to terminate seems preordained due to Ken’s behavior
• Of course the risk of losing talented employees should be minimized when possible but a company should never be held hostage to that concept when behavior like Ken threatens the organization’s drive to survive

Carolyn Boulger Miller – Researches and teaches media economics, law, and broadcasting

• Bob has not taken the time to talk to Ken about what is really going on
• Ken may feel betrayed that Bob shuttled him off to Harold
• If Bob really believes that Ken is a valuable asset to Tidewater then he should be handling it himself
• Morris doesn’t understand how people like Ken fear change they may have little control over other aspects of their lives so it becomes very important to control their lives at work
• If change is to happen employees like Ken want to be the ones who inspire it and see it through
• A fired Ken is Tidewater’s worst R&D nightmare even the most loyal employees will share company secrets if they feel betrayed
• While employees like Ken may not want to quit or be fired they can justify leaving if they perceive another company is luring them away because of their talents
• It must be Ken’s decision to stay at Tidewater and he will decide to stay only if he is made to feel indispensible
• Ken should stay full-time as a consultant independent of Morris

Lyle Miller- Director of the Biobehavioral Institute in Brookline, Massachusetts