Assignment:
In his 2001 article, "Good to Great", Jim Collins found 11 companies that went from good to great and metaphorically discussed how each of them did this. Of particular note was how Collins described the transformation of Wells Fargo.
Using the Hedgehog Concept, Collins argued that leaders are hedgehogs, not foxes. Foxes are good at many things. Hedgehogs are good at 1 big thing and are able to distill everything down to 1 simple workable idea. Accordingly, to be a great company, the CEO would have to ask: 1) what is the company best at; 2) what economic denominator drives the company; and, 3) what are the employees passionate about? Using this formula, Collins notably claims that Wells Fargo discovered that their economic driver was not profit per loan but profit per employee. Consequently, they pioneered electronic banking with the idea that they would "run a business like they owned it" and ended up turning that employee profit into superior results.
Although Collins does not empirically define these results, Wells Fargo's profit summaries since 2001 reflect as much. In 2016, a former employee revealed that Wells Fargo had been involved in elaborate schemes to defraud customers by using their information to create phony accounts without their knowledge. Still trying to recover from the $1.2 billion housing settlement in February of 2016, this disclosure resulted in yet another $185 million in fines by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Consequently, the CEO resigned and the Department of Justice (DOJ) is now investigating the company. Wells Fargo shares have lost nearly 16% of their value.
For your discussion, you must first determine if Collins was incorrect to begin with. Did Collins simply misinterpret how Wells Fargo reported their successes after 2001? Or was it something internal at Wells Fargo that caused the Hedgehog Concept to go awry? If so, how could profit per employee go so wrong? Most importantly, where was the failure in leadership and why?
RESEARCH PAPER: PERSONAL PHILOSOPHY OF LEADERSHIP ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS
OVERVIEW
Many organizations publicly define who they are through their vision, mission, and values statements. Youcan do the same as individuals. This exercise is very similar to organizational vision, mission, and values statement writing; there are slight modifications from the organizational format with respect to length, focus, and purpose. Keep in mind, this exercise is very introspective. It can be very challenging if taken seriously, and it can change your life. You are to write a Personal Philosophy of Leadership through your construction of a personal vision, mission, and values statement.
INSTRUCTIONS
• Vision Statement-the vision statement is a statement of what is possible; it is a picture of the future. Write a statement on what is possible for you and what the picture of the future is for you. This may be 1 paragraph (5-6 sentences) and up to a page. This is not an organizational vision statement. It is a personal vision statement; there are differences.
• Mission Statement-the mission statement answers the vision. If your vision statement is to be or to do XYZ (what is possible), your mission statement is that you accomplish your vision by ABC (your reflections, thoughts, and method). This is a little different than the short corporate mission statements. This mission statement is a philosophy or creed that focuses on your character, your contributions or achievements, and on the values or principles upon which your attitudes are based. You may call it your Personal Constitution. You must answer the following: What is my purpose in life? What really counts? What do I want to accomplish in life? What legacy would you like to leave? You must also weave into this statement what type of leader you want to be, what your purpose is as a leader, and what legacy you would like to leave as a leader.
To earn the greatest amount of points, the inclusion of a Christian worldview in this assignmentis strongly encouraged; you should be praying and seeking God's guidance in this exercise. Write a statement that includes all of the above material. This must be well thought out. This is not an "hour before it is due" exercise; that will be obvious.This statement is expected to be a minimum of 3 to 4 pages in length. This is not an organizational mission statement. It is a personal mission statement; there are differences.
• Values Statement-in bullet form, list 5 to 10 values that are most important to you by which you would want others to define you. This is not an organizational values statement. It is a personal values statement; there are differences.
• References-this paper must be at least 5 pages and include a minimum of 5-7 references to ground your thoughts. Use proper, current APA formatting for in-text citations and for the final reference page. Acceptable sources include the course textbooks, scholarly articles published within the last five years from Jerry Falwell's Library.
Note: Your assignment will be checked for originality via the Turnitin plagiarism tool.