YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The film “Back to the Future” tells the story of Marty McFly, who befriends the eccentric Doc Brown. Doc invents a time machine out of a DeLorean, advancing its ability to not only drive the streets as a typical car but also hover, fly and travel through time. These updates to the DeLorean are a great example of how to manage an organization, representing the different perspectives needed for success.
When Marty and Doc drive the DeLorean on the streets, it represents how a strong manager needs to be where rubber meets road. You need to know the challenges your front-line staff faces. After all, they do the work every day to make your organization function, so it’s important to stay on the road and listen to their concerns, challenges and motivations.
The DeLorean can also hover above the street. Sometimes you need to step back and look at the organization as if you’re 100 feet above. It helps to understand how each department interacts and depends on one another. Do they have similar problems? Can they work together more effectively? How much collaboration is needed – and does it need to be improved?
Just like the DeLorean’s ability to soar, you also need to look at your organization in its entirety, including how it connects or interacts with outside companies and the greater community. Are there any collaboration or partnership opportunities not being taken advantage of? What is your competition doing? How can you influence your industry? How can you get involved in your community? How is your organization or brand recognized? These are all questions you can ask by flying in the sky above your organization.
As the name suggests, the DeLorean in “Back to the Future” can also travel into the future. As a manager, it’s not enough to solely focus on the present. You must always look ahead. You need to make decisions based on what’s best for the long-term interest of your organization, not what’s easiest. Envisioning the future helps you understand what’s needed to prepare your organization for changing environments and industry advancements.
Similarly, Marty McFly also takes the DeLorean to the past to correct things in the future (and the present). As a strong leader in your organization, it’s important to look back to the past when you face a problem. What created this problem in the first place? What mistakes were made and how can you learn from them? How can you build a better organization because of previous issues? If we don’t address problems at the root, they will grow back and reoccur.
If you want to be a strong leader of an organization, you need to be Marty McFly. Drive the DeLorean and avoid staying stagnant. Spend time on the road driving the main streets and keeping an eye on day-to-day challenges. Hover to get a better perspective of every department or program to see how the organization functions as a whole. Soar above so you can see how your organization fits in with the community, the industry and with partners. Travel into the future to prepare your organization for the next five years. Go back in time to look at the root of problems so you can dissect them and prevent them from happening again.
If you spend your time and shift perspectives like Marty and Doc, you’re sure to drive your organization toward success.
Larry Moliterno is president and CEO of Meridian Healthcare, based in Boardman.