Managing change is hard and often thankless work. And when it involves the dreaded “restructuring,” situations can turn explosive quickly.
Two examples last week — one in the regulated private sector and one in state government — illustrate the point.
Management at Northeast Utilities is trying to calm the region’s economic development community after the newly jumbo-sized power company whacked its four-man Connecticut-based economic development team. Among the casualties are individuals who defined economic development in these parts for years and were among the founders of many of the organizations in that sector.
Don’t panic, says NU, we have a 16-person team, directed from Boston, ready to fill any void. And yes, the money will keep flowing to projects we’ve supported.
No reason to doubt NU on those facts. The agreement with the state that allowed the merger of NU and NStar spelled out that the money would keep flowing for seven years. But the NStar-heavy management team seems tone-deaf to the message that the Connecticut team is out, its function subsumed in a community relations team managed in Boston. Why wouldn’t that be seen as a trauma in Connecticut?
Then there’s the matter of the temblor felt by the state’s 12 community college presidents. There’s ample disagreement on the spin but the facts seem to be that each is under contract until next June and all have been offered buyouts.
Now, the Department of Education is standing by its position that each community college will have a president. That’s not a calming statement if you’ve just been offered a buyout. As anyone in business knows, titles are cheaper than hard cash. It may well be that the state is phasing out 12 high-earners to be replaced by 12 people with less authority and resulting lower pay. We’ll know more as it plays out.
The parallel here is that neither organization had the good sense to get out ahead of the situation and explain what was being done and why. Did each really think nobody would say anything, that nobody would notice?
In the long-run, both NU and the Department of Education may be making fine strategic decisions but the lack of public relations savvy has produced two unnecessary train wrecks that likely will haunt programs for years.
There is some indication NU tried to smooth the waters after some stakeholders complained to Tom May, the former NStar boss and current NU president and CEO. That triggered a visit from a Boston-based executive but it feels more like damage control than strategy. Still, it seems to be more than the state did in managing its change situation.
In each case, the employer was in complete control of the situation, the communication mechanism and the timing. There was no looming deadline, no external pressure to act precipitously. Yet clearly neither cared enough to do the job right. And that’s the takeaway that’s going to hang over both for a long, long time.
Maybe we were still caught in the haze of Connecticut’s decision to legalize medicinal marijuana, but the arrival of a representative of the U.S. Medical Marijuana Chamber of Commerce in Hartford last week caught us by surprise.
Who knew there was such a group and that it claims 560 business members?
Odd as it may sound, these guys have a point. By legalizing marijuana, the legislature set in motion the creation of a new industry sector that may well create more jobs and more tax dollars than more traditional economic development programs.
There’s no doubt there’s money in weed. Some estimates put the national expenditure on marijuana north of $100 billion. Using the rule of thumb that Connecticut is 1 percent of the nation’s population, that’s an instant $1 billion industry gearing up.
As always the devil is in the details and the state government has a ways to go before the mechanics are set out. But don’t underestimate the opportunity — for both good and ill.
Dispensing medicinal marijuana has changed the flavor of urban centers and Connecticut’s cities likely will not be immune. Good growth is smart growth, even when it’s done in a purple haze.
