A Counterintuitive Sense of Balance

“The one thing I would do differently is I would have done things faster, which is counterintuitive.

“When you think about changing a big organization rooted in its history, you think the changes should be gradual. I think that the faster you move, the faster you make the tough calls and the better off you're going to be. You don't want to have organizations in what some people think of as a liquid state.

“I'm an engineer by training so my physics comes back. An organization is something very solid and when you apply a lot of heat to change it, it becomes fluid. You want to make sure that you don't keep it fluid too long, because liquids move in many directions that you might not have intended.”

(Eduardo Castro-Wright, CEO of Wal-Mart USA Stores, in “Boss Talk: Engineering a Change at Wal-Mart; U.S. Stores Chief Says Timely Overhaul Will Drive Sales After Economy Rebounds.” by Ann Zimmerman. Wall Street Journal: August 12, 2008. pg. B.1)