What kind of leader are you most like Captain Kirk, Richie Cunningham or Archie Bunker?

October 13, 2015
Posted by: Phillip W. Duff
Categories: Agencies, Compliance, Law Firms, Mergers and Acquisitions, Opinions

Archie Bunker from the 70’s sitcom “All in the Family” was known for not accepting change easily. He preferred to stay in his own world, even though the world was passing him by.

“If everything is good in the henhouse you don’t have to go out for eggs”.

He was fine watching the changes around him while trying as hard as possible to ignore them.

“He’s got some grand strategy that he can’t revulge.”

If you are like Archie as a CEO, then you are going to have some issues in the future as the industry continues to become more complex. As you add regulations and client restrictions to today’s intricate collection process you will need better tools, better people and better processes. If you are like Archie Bunker and not so willing to embrace technology and new ways of doing business, it is very likely that you will be left behind.

Maybe you are a little bit more like Richie Cunningham from” Happy Days”? Richie tries to be innovative and new, but was never very successful. He was only willing to take limited chances and therefore he had only limited success.

Come on, Fonz, haven’t you ever dreamed?

If you are a leader in the image of Richie Cunningham, it is likely that you are considering making changes to your business but it is seldom that you actually do anything new. You are constantly dreaming of a better and more efficient business platform, while you continue to work on the platform you currently have.

Maybe you’re like Capt. James T. Kirk from the original “Star Trek” and you are looking for new frontiers and bold new ways to do business? If this is the case, you will probably find them.

“You know the greatest danger facing us is ourselves, an irrational fear of the unknown. But there’s no such thing as the unknown — only things temporarily hidden, temporarily not understood.”

If you have the attitude of Captian James T. Kirk, then you will be likely to succeed in the collection industry. But if you are afraid of change like Archie Bunker or do not embrace change or do enough like Richie Cunningham, you may have difficulty making it to 2020.