GSMA is a fascinating example of complacency and empty leadership bringing a company to its knees. Numerous reviews on Glassdoor fault the DG for this failure but there is plenty of blame to spread around. Mats and his cabinet should be held accountable for the primary revenue generating portion of the business being run into the ground, but accountability is a foreign concept in GSMA’s culture.
While GSMA promotes the idea of making the world a better place through mobile technology, their actions depict a mindset that lacks the slightest hint of focus. Personal agendas are in control and have evolved a previously collaborative and nurturing set of offices into a toxic work environment that is choking out all talent. There are no processes to follow at any level of the business. The loudest voices in the room dictate the course of a global business, without review or consequence.
GSMA is an association first and foremost. The tricky caveat to this business is that the primary revenue generator is not membership to the association but the global events portfolio, led by MWC Barcelona. Association led events are historically unsuccessful for an extended period of time. GSMA hit a slow-to-manifest lottery with their Barcelona event and had a long runway to dig into what made it so special before falling victim to what drives most events to fail… poor planning and lack of value.
Unfortunately, unchecked belief within the walls of GSMA that simply hosting an event with the GSMA name on it will guarantee success has prevented any thought or investigation into WHY the Barcelona event was successful. Over time, a company-wide hubris developed around their ability to host, manage and nurture events. If you don’t understand why your business succeeds, it’s going to be a real bear to comprehend the triggers that could lead to failure in the future. The reality is that an immense amount of luck slash being in the right place at the right time created a perfect and highly lucrative scenario in Barcelona.
For a modern business professional witnessing the business planning process for events, the experience would be a mix of humor and brain-melting pain. Forecasting is a foreign concept. Revenue & attendance goals are generated on a whim by the CEO and GM. Numbers are plucked out of the air and strategy is led by gut instinct rather than evidence-based reasoning. Data that doesn’t align with the GM’s gut feeling is questioned ad infinitum or flatly dismissed.
Budgets are routinely slashed in the middle of event cycles to meet margin targets. Goals that have direct correlation to these budgets are held to original targets and become impossible to meet. When those goals are not met, the response from senior leadership is to express disappointment and cite a lack of effort while refusing to address the overarching issues related to an invisible forecast, instability within budgeting exercises and pet projects eating up opportunities to deliver captivating and memorable events across the globe.
The CEO has two faces. Public facing is a carefree guy who plays up the “I’m not the smartest guy in the room” act. But folly is the cloak of knavery and when it counts, his actions lack logic, double-cross his own teams and undermine the strategy of an entire business.
Last fall a new CMO was brought on board. They’ve given themselves a 5 star rating on their April 8 Glassdoor post. At an individual level, this role at GSMA is a fascinating study in the damage that crushing personal insecurities can have on valuable character traits such as empathetic leadership, introspection and pragmatism. The CMO role is brimming with buzzwords and self-promotion but lacks substance and character. A startling contrast to the GSMA Values that are painted on office walls and referenced at every turn by the DG.
GSMA is a global business with offices on 5 continents but is plagued by systemic HR issues. There is no process to recruitment which can be maddening. As a hiring manager, I was once excluded from the delivery and acceptance of an offer to a candidate. The compensation package, start-date and all associated negotiations were conducted by an internal recruiter without my knowledge or direction. More concerning is HR’s aversion to proactively dealing with workplace harassment. As an example, an individual in Atlanta had no fewer than 5 complaints raised against them in 2019 for harassment and badgering. This person was PROMOTED to a senior role in 2020.
When employee surveys show poor morale and a lack of trust in leadership, the response from leadership is to point blame at the offices with the lowest scores. On a company-wide conference call in 2019, the DG stood in front of the London office and responded to a question about low company morale by saying, “if you don’t like how things are here, leave”. Amazing.
Leaders create culture. Culture drives behavior. Behavior drives results. GSMA lacks C-suite leaders who comprehend the complexity of managing a global business. In a data-driven world, they’re light-years behind the businesses and organizations they claim to be assisting. As the lack of modern business acumen catches up with them, the house of cards will come crashing down.
