Current Situation Analysis and Recommendations

DATE:  October 28, 2015                                                                                       Memorandum

TO:       Valerie Merz, Marketing Manager at MediSys Corp.

FROM:

RE:       Current situation analysis and recommendations        

Thank you for taking time to meet with me to discuss the upcoming IntensCare product launch, and the team's unrest around it. You’ve joined MediSys at a very uncertain time when the company had to face recession-driven cutbacks, intensified competition, and internal functional changes. Both internal and external environments threw the company off its alignment. Such extreme conditions call for greater team collaboration and consolidation of all resources.

Presently, the core team is under a lot of pressure to launch the product on time. Yet, the group is disconnected on many levels. People fail to see a bigger-picture, lack sense of shared purpose, and their performance is driven by different factors. Additionally, the team opposes you and neglects your expertise and opinion on most matters. The reason behind this is that you come across as someone who refuses to compromise or understand difficulties faced by other units. This alone is setting a tone in the group that you want things done your way, leaving little room for teamwork and collaboration.

While failure to launch a product on time and on par with the stakeholders’ expectations will negatively affect the P&L, market share, and potentially result in damaged reputation and loss of talent, it is essential to build a strong team that will overcome any challenges. You are seen as a micromanager, making people avoid you and consider constructive work with you as nearly impossible. Based on all of the above, I’d like to propose some actions that would not only help launch a product on time, but also help you moving forward with the core team:

Revise your strategy on implementing modular design. You have a clear understanding that this idea is unrealistic given stringent deadlines, and adding modular design to the 2nd version of the product would make more sense. When you insist on adding modules 6 months before the launch, the team sees you as being unreasonable and demanding impossible. It would benefit all if you propose a plan on adding modularity during second production round.

Invest time in team-building. Reviewing your team’s history at MediSys, you work with really bright and capable people. If you unite your drives and experience with theirs, you will free up a lot of energy and time - now lost to arguments and rumors - to devote to product launch. This will create a better working environment, where everyone would see eye-to-eye. Make an attempt to start on the right foot by sharing your vision with team, listening and accepting their criticism calmly, without overreacting or creating drama. Self-regulation is one of the key qualities that you have to work on to become a better leader for your team.