Brandon W. Jones

As was pointed out in the case study, Gary Loveman caused a change in the system at Harrah’s. He was able to change the system because of the person that he was. There were four keys that led to his success.
1. He gained credibility with the employees/management team.
2. He tried to understand the existing system
3. Had high expectations and led by examples.

Gain Credibility
In order to gain credibility, he spent time at the various properties. He also made himself available to the employees, which is essential when entering a new organization because people are automatically going to be skeptical. They are going to question why someone new was brought in for a position, instead of just hiring someone from within the company. It was extremely important for him to go amongst the people so that he could gain their trust. Through his interactions, he gained credibility with the employees/management team.

Understand the System
By going to the various properties, he was able to see how the company currently operates. He was able to see the flaws and strengths of the existing system. He also recognized that there was a sense of defeatism and victimization within the company. Once he understood the existing system, he was able to know which changes must occur. In order for a manager to be successful, they must first dig in to find out what is going on and then they are able to fix the problems. In the process of digging in, they are also able to gain trust and credibility with the employees. Often managers only view things from the 30,000 ft level when they begin to make changes. This method is not as successful because they are unable to see the underlying issues that exist.

High Expectations
By setting high expectations for himself and others, he was able to raise the bar on performance within the company. One essential element of him raising the bar was that he also raised the bar on himself. He chose to lead by example. If a leader sets high expectations for the group, but doesn’t live up to them himself, the group will have no desire to meet the expectations. When Gary not only talked the talk, but also walked the walk, he demonstrated to his employees that he didn’t expect anymore of them than he did of himself.