Sep
6
What Made Jack Welch…. JACK WELCH….?
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A post from Lisa from Management Craft on a book by Stephen H. Baum, “What Made jack welch JACK WELCH: How Ordinary People Become Extraordinary Leaders
Shaping Experiences
by Stephen H. Baum
Your leadership core is nurtured and grown out of shaping experiences you encounter and often pursue throughout your life. I’ve identified ten archetypal shaping experiences that mold people into leaders, developing their leadership traits and providing the knowledge and skills crucial to operating in a highly effective manner. Yes, there are ten, and no one of them provides the skill, talent, inherent ability, or single moment of inspiration that makes a leader. These days, no one becomes an effective boss by pulling a sword from a stone. Great leadership happens through hard work and a willingness to take on experience and learn from it.
To paraphrase Gordon Bethune, former chairman and CEO of Continental Airlines, whose leadership skills are legendary: No one thing makes a leader great. Just as having some flour, milk, and eggs in a bowl doesn’t mean you have a great cake — it’s what you do with those ingredients that will determine whether the cake turns out well or poorly.
Archetypal shaping experiences contribute to the cake turning out well. The ten broad categories of shaping experiences are listed below and are shown with a brief definition and explanatory quotes from the leaders I interviewed for this book:
1. Swim in Water over Your Head. Take a calculated personal risk without specific knowledge of how to succeed.
“You gotta do things outside your comfort zone. On purpose.”
“I figured I’d get beat up pretty good in this fistfight, but I had to do it. I got a big lump on my head, but I didn’t die.”
2. Make the Tough Choice. Choose group benefit over personal interest, or choose between two “rights.”
“Sometimes you have to take a good friend off the team and make him feel okay about it. Or do it anyway.”
3. Solve the Key Puzzle. Even if it is not your job, figure out the root of the problem or opportunity.
“Sometimes the crowd runs in circles. You have to concentrate and see what everything hangs on — even if it is not your accountability.”
4. Parent at Work. Help others to grow and to perform exceptionally.
“You learn a lot from your parents and by parenting your own children; sometimes thinking as Mom or Dad at work helps.”
“Ask what you would do if your people were family — you get some good approaches.”
“Treat your employees as you would want your children treated.”
5. Sell Something/Get Others to Buy In. Win hearts and minds to create followers.
“Sell an idea. You’ll be doing it a lot.”
“Get people to vote with their feet, part with their money — it’s what life is all about.”
6. Connect with Others. Understand what motivates others — walk the talk and speak their language. Enlist them as much by your deeds as by your words.
“This plane will get fixed a lot faster if the mechanics want it to. It won’t fix itself.”
“A lot of bosses treat their people like they’re nobodies. My guys do their best because it’s about us, not about me.”
7. Build a Team. Gather and lead a group in a common endeavor, and succeed. Or fail at first and try again. Get average players to play like stars. Add new members and weed out underperformers. Set direction and change it while keeping the team together.
“When you have to deliver, you need experience in selecting people and getting them on the same page.”
“Pickup football taught me how to handicap horses — who will perform and who will not.”
8. Get Good on Your Feet. Learn to communicate, dialogue, and project your authenticity in real time.
“I was the leader of the singing group. That is when I got used to speaking in front of others. It came in handy later.”
“I ran for student council. That’s when I learned to handle the hecklers.”
“I wanted to create an atmosphere of fun around a serious proposition. I organized and led a parade in the building. It not only did what I wanted, it also got me noticed in a good way by the boss.”
9. Develop Your Crap Detector. Practice your intuitive ability to read subtexts of conversations and to detect individuals whose words and behaviors are not what they pretend them to be.
“In the military police, we had to ask questions and make quick judgments about people — a guy who seemed real nice might have beaten someone up a few minutes earlier.”
10. Look in the Mirror. Assess your own values, beliefs, and behaviors critically.
“I didn’t want to hear it, but the criticism made me look inside myself. I changed my career, headed for operations. “
“He made me see my passion — it’s why I stayed in this field against all odds.”
“He told me I’d never make partner if I could not disagree without being disagreeable.”
It seems that this is a good book, filled with the lessons from a great leader….
Technorati Tags: Book, Lessons, Leadership, Management, Business, Review, Jack Welch, Role Model, Experiences
Aug
7
Peter Drucker on Effective Executives
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In his book “The Effective Executive” Peter Drucker discusses the five essential practices that are hallmarks of effective executives:
- Effective executives know where their time goes. They work systematically at managing the little of their time that can be brought under their control.
- Effective executives focus on outward contribution. They gear their efforts to results rather than work. They start out with the question, “What results are expected of me?” rather than with the work to be done, let alone with its techniques and tools.
- Effective executives build on strengths - their own strengths, the strengths of their superiors, colleagues, and subordinates; and on the strengths in the situation, that on what they can do. They do not build on weaknesses. They do not start out with the things they cannot do.
- Effective executives concentrate on the few major areas where superior performance will produce outstanding results. They force themselves to set priorities and stay with their priority decisions. They know that they have no choice but to do first things first - and second things not at all. The alternative is to get nothing done.
- Effective executives, finally, make effective decisions. They know that this is, above all, a matter of system - of the right steps in the right sequence. They know that an effective decision is always a judgement based on “dissenting opinions” rather than on “consensus on the facts”. And they know to make many decisions fast means to make the wrong decisions. What is needed are few, but fundamental decisions. What is needed is the right strategy rather than the razzle-dazzle tactics.
The first step on the road to effective leadership is the decision to take responsibility for managing oneself. This book provides a foundation for personal effectiveness - to help us focus on doing the right things. Effectiveness is a habit that we all need to learn and the five practices described by Peter Drucker provide a base set of practices that underpin personal effectiveness.
Technorati Tags: Peter Drucker, Leadership, Management, GTD, Lifehacks, Productivity, Effectiveness, Focus, Book
Apr
5
Talent is Never Enough
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In John Maxwell’s valuable new book, Talent is Never Enough, he cites Peter Drucker on effectiveness, “There seems to be little correlation between a man’s effectiveness and his intelligence, his imagination, or his knowledge…Intelligence, imagination, and knowledge are essential resources, but only effectiveness converts them into results. By themselves, they only set limits to what can be contained.”
Talent might get you noticed but it won’t keep you there. Success requires hard work. To achieve the effectiveness you need to turn talent into results. John Maxwell has identified 13 choices you can make to maximize your talent. These choices form the framework of his book:
- Belief lifts your talent: Lack of belief in yourself can act as a ceiling on talent.
- Passion energizes your talent: A passionate person with limited talent will outperform a passive person who possesses greater talent.
- Initiative activates your talent: Socrates said, “To move the world we must first move ourselves.”
- Focus directs your talent: Attempting everything, like attempting nothing will suck the life out of you.
- Preparation positions your talent: Becoming more intentional. You can claim to be surprised once; after that, you’re unprepared.
- Practice sharpens your talent: Practice demands discipline and embracing change.
- Perseverance sustains your talent: People who display perseverance keep a larger vision in mind as they toil away at their craft or profession.
- Courage tests your talent: As we develop our talent and grow to our potential we will be tested continually. Courage is an everyday virtue.
- Teachability expands your talent: Teachability is not so much about competence and mental capacity as it is about attitude. It is the desire to listen, learn, and apply. Talented people can be the toughest to teach because they often think they know it all. It’s a problem of pride.
- Character protects your talent: People cannot climb beyond the limitations of their character. Talented people are sometimes tempted to take shortcuts. Character prevents that.
- Relationships influence your talent: Life is too short to spend it with people who pull you in the wrong direction. And it’s too short not to invest in others. Your relationships will define you.
- Responsibility strengthens your talent: Responsibility not only improves your life, but also will improve the life of those around you.
- Teamwork multiplies your talent: Teamwork divides the effort and multiples the effect.
Source: Leading Blog: Talent is Never Enough
Technorati Tags: Book, Talent, Management, Review, Leadership, Business, Career
Jan
23
8 Skills That Separate Leaders Who Perform from Those Who Don’t
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Ram Charan co-author of the popular book “Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done” which I previously reviewed here, has just released a new book on leadership titled “Know-How: The 8 Skills That Separate People Who Perform from Those Who Don’t“. Ram Charan’s insight into the real content of leadership provides you with the eight fundamental skills needed for success in the twenty-first century:
- Positioning (and when necessary, repositioning) your business by zeroing in on the central idea that meets customer needs and makes money.
- Connecting the dots by pinpointing patterns of external change ahead of others.
- Shaping the way people work together by leading the social system of your business.
- Judging people by getting to the truth of a person.
- Molding high-energy, high-powered, high-ego people into a working team of leaders in which they equal more than the sum of their parts.
- Knowing the destination where you want to take your business by developing goals that balance what the business can become with what it can realistically achieve.
- Setting laser-sharp priorities that become the road map for meeting your goals.
- Dealing creatively and positively with societal pressures that go beyond the economic value creation activities of your business.
Know-How is the missing link of leadership. By Showing how the eight know-hows link to, interact with, and reinforce personal and psychological traits, Ram Charan provides a holistic and innovative portrait of successful leaders of the twenty-first century.
Sounds like another interesting read from Ram Charan.
Technorati Tags: Book, Management, Leadership, Skills, Business, Quote
Nov
26
Management f-LAWS
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What are f-LAWS you may ask? The f-LAWS website says that:
f-LAWS are truths about organizations that we might wish to deny or ignore - simple and more reliable guides to managers’ everyday behaviour than the complex truths proposed by scientists, economists, sociologists, politicians and philosophers.
In 1958, Professor Cyril Northcote Parkinson first articulated Parkinson’s Law, which states that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion”. His law and the accompanying book was based on his extensive experience in the British Civil Service and on his own scientific observations.
Almost 50 years later, Professor Russell Ackoff, renowned American management guru and systems thinker, has compiled over 80 new laws in the same vein. Based on a lifetime’s experience in public and private sector organizations, these f-LAWS (or laws as flaws) are designed to whet your appetite and get you thinking about the often-unacknowledged realities of organizations: what really motivates managers, why are companies run the way they are, how come they don’t work better…?
There are over 80 f-Laws and the authors intend releasing their book “Management f-LAWS: How Organizations Really Work” in January 2007. To whet our appetite the authors hae release a free e-book “Little Book of f-Laws” containing just 13 laws from the book. From the free e-book “Little Book of f-Laws” I found the following f-Laws most interesting…
- Managers who don’t know how to measure what they want settle for wanting what they can measure.
- There is nothing that a manager wants done that educated subordinates cannot undo. - The basis of this f-Law is as follows: the more power-over educated subordinates that managers exercise, the less is their power-to get them to do what they want them to.
- The more time managers spend trying to get rid of what they don’t want, the less likely they are to get what they do want. - It is more difficult to define what we want than what we do not want. Nevertheless, a ‘getting rid of’ strategy is a cop out. Great gains are seldom made easily.
- A bureaucrat is one who has the power to say ‘no’ but none to say ‘yes’. - In a bureaucracy a ‘no’ cannot lead to what is considered to be an error, only a ‘yes’ can do that. Therefore, within a bureaucracy doing as little as possible is the best strategy for avoiding detectable errors.
- The less important an issue is, the more time managers spend discussing it. - More time is spent on small talk than is spent on large talk. Most talk is about what matters least. What matters least is what most of us know most about. The more something matters, the less we know about it.
- Managers cannot learn from doing things right, only from doing them wrong. - Doing something right can only confirm what one already knows or believes; one cannot learn from it. However, one can learn from making mistakes, by identifying and correcting them…… Organizations fail more often because of what they have not done than because of what they have done.
The book is planned to be released in January 2007 which you can pre-order here. The authors are running a competition looking for additional f-Laws. If can submit your own f-Law to the authors for consideration and stand a chance to win the f-LAW trophy. Entries will be judged by the publishers.
Technorati Tags: Leadership, f-Laws, Management, Book, Review, Principle, Business
Apr
8
Book Review: Pour Your Heart Into It…
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A book of passion and inspiration, that’s my take on “Pour Your Heart into It : How Starbucks Built a Company One Cup at a Time” by the chairman and CEO of Starbucks Howard Schultz and Dori Jones Yang. The book is the story of the principles that made Starbucks the success it is today and how better to tell the story than the man who made it happen. The book starts with Howard Schultz, his early years and his discovery of coffee, his acquisition of Starbucks, through to when the company was made public and describes the renewal of the company for growth. The book takes you on the journey, the highs and lows, revealing rich lessons along the way. I found the book captivating and was unable to put it down until the end. Some of the personal learnings I gleaned from this book are:
I Learnt It’s Important….. to Pursue a Bold Vision
“If you want to build a great enterprise, you have to have the courage to dream great dreams. If you dream small dreams, you may succeed in building something small. For many people, that is enough. But if you want to achieve widespread impact and lasting value, be bold.”
“Life is a series of near misses. But a lot of what we ascribe to luck is not luck at all. It’s seizing the day and accepting responsibility for your future. It’s seeing what other people don’t see, and pursuing that vision, no matter who tells you not to.”
“Without romance and vision, a business has no soul, no spirit to motivate its people to achieve something great. But a successful company can’t sustain itself on exhilarating ideas alone. Many business visionaries have failed as leaders because they could not execute. Process and systems, discipline and efficiency are needed to create a foundation before ideas can be implemented and entrepreneurial vision can be realized… Many young companies can’t make the leap to maturity because they either don’t support the creative spirit with structure and process, or they go too far and stifle that spirit with an overdeveloped bureaucracy. The most successful examples have been led by both a visionary, like Walt Disney, and a business-like implementer, like Roy Disney.”
I Learnt the Importance of….. Passion
“Any number of different factors can knock a company off its course in the period between its founder’s initial enthusiasm and and the eventual returns. But passion is, and will always be, a necessary ingredient. Even the world’s best business plan won’t produce any return if it is not backed with passion and integrity”
“Nobody ever accomplished anything by believing the naysayers. And few have ever done so by Sticking to proven ideas in proven fields”
“Part of what constitutes success is timing and chance. But most of us have to create our own opportunities and be prepared to jump when we see a big one others can’t see”
I Learnt the Importance of….. Leadership
“An intelligent executive team is vital for a company to prosper. Strong, creative people are a lot more stimulating to be around than yes-men. What can you learn from those who know less than you? They massage you ego for a while and take orders easily, but they won’t help you grow.”
“We have to lead with our hearts. In business, as in life, we should have an internal compass that guides our decisions, an instinctive understanding of what matters most in this world. For me, it’s not profits, or sales, or number of stores, but the passion, commitment, and enthusiasm of a dedicated group of people. It’s not about money, it’s about pursuing a dream others think you can’t achieve and finding a way to give something back, to the employees, to the customers, to the community.”
“Success should not be measured in dollars: It’s about how you conduct the journey, and how big your heart is at the end of it”
I Learnt the Importance of….. Pushing Boundaries
“When you’re failing, it’s easy to understand the need for self-renewal. The status quo is not working, and only radical change can fix it. But we’re seldom motivated to seek self-renewal when we’re successful. When things are going well, when the fans are cheering, why change a winning formula? The simple answer is this: Because the world is changing. Every year, customer’s’ needs and tastes change. The competition heats up. Employees change. Managers change…… Even when life seems perfect, you have to take risks and jump to the next level, or you’ll start spiralling downhill into complacency without even realizing it.”
“‘If you examine a butterfly according to the laws of aerodynamics, it shouldn’t be able to fly. But the butterfly doesn’t know that, so it flies.’ At Starbucks, we likewise do things we don’t know we’re supposed to be able to do”
I Learnt that….. Business is About People
“There is no more precious commodity than the relationship of trust and confidence a company has with its employees”
“People directly affect the quality of products and services our customers receive. People will determine the ultimate success of Starbucks. Products are inert. You have to hire great people, ….celebrate their passions and their skills, and give them the freedom to do their jobs right.”
“A business plan is only a piece of paper, and even the greatest business plan of all will prove worthless unless the people are committed to it. It can not be sustainable, or even implemented properly, unless the people are committed to it with the same heartfelt urgency as their leader. And they will not accept it unless they both trust the leader’s judgement and understand that their efforts will be recognized and valued.”
“If you treat your employees as interchangable cogs in a wheel, they will view you with the same affection.”
“Once you’ve figured out what you want to do, find someone who has done it before. Find not just talented executives but even more experienced entrepreneurs and business people who can guide you.”
The Starbucks success story is inspiring and very motivating. I would strongly recommend this book to leaders, managers and especially entrepreneurs. The book is written with the same passion and conviction that made the Starbuck’s brand great.
Technorati Tags: Book, Leadership, Business, Management, Passion, Vision, Book Review, Starbucks
Apr
3
Book Review: Winning ‘Em Over
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The book “Winning Em’ Over” is written by Jay Conger, a professor of management at the University of Southern California. In his book, Jay discusses that art of persuasion which is defined as “the ability to present a message in a way that leads others to support it.” The book is written specifically for managers, with the view that one of the primary tasks of managers is to sell ideas, to present solutions to problems and make recommendations. Managers frequently need to influence others, in positive ways, to adopt new solutions, approaches and practices, all of which require effective persuasion. The is the core purpose of the book to, to help manager become more effective influences.
Overview
The book starts by examining the following six myths of persuasion:
- The most effective persuasion is the hard sell.
- Persuasion is a one-way process.
- Effective persuades succeed on the first try.
- Good persuaders don’t need to compromise.
- Great arguments are the secret to successful persuasion.
- Persuasion is pure manipulation.
The book goes on to discuss the following four elements required for effective persuasion.
Building Credibility.
Building credibility involves assessing ourselves considering two factors: expertise and relationships. These two factors form the foundation of credibility and are the “ticket to the game” when it comes to persuasion. Without expertise and relationships persuasion becomes very difficult.
Searching for Shared Ground.
The way you frame an argument has a significant impact on they way people respond. Effective framing depends on how you are able to create positions based upon shared ground, based upon:
- Goals and rewards shared by your audience.
- Values and beliefs shared by your audience.
- Delivered in a language shared by your audience.
Provide Compelling Positions and Evidence.
Evidence and positions is concerned with the facts and information we use to build compelling arguments and how the information is structured and presented for consideration.
Connecting Emotionally.
The heart and our emotions are far more compelling than our head. Connecting emotionally is about resonating emotionally with your audience, by appealing to specific emotions that support your position.
Summary
The book is a quick read and achieves what it set out to do, by providing a practical toolkit that managers can use to improve their ability to persuade. The method described in the book is simple and seems to have been well researched and tested. A feature of the book I particularly liked is the way that each of the chapters are concluded with a section on how to practically apply the concept. This book is useful for managers as it provides a framework and some practical tools to guide the development of a persuasive positions. This is the primary value I derived from the book, a toolkit to help me develop persuasive presentations and arguments.
Technorati Tags: Persuasion, Influence, Book, Presentation, Management, Business, Communication, Book Review
Mar
7
Book Review: Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion
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The book Influence: Science and Practice (4th Edition) written by Robert B. Cialdini, who received his graduate and postgraduate training in persuasion and social influence from the University of North Carolina and Columbia University. The book shows how much of human behaviour is stereotyped and automatic, as we go through life we develop “rules of thumb” as shortcuts to decision making. An example of this occurs when we assume that if something is expensive then it’s of good quality. These rules of thumb work for us the majority of the time. Drawing from research in the field of social psychology, this book explores six “rules of thumb” or principles of persuasion and how they can be used to persuade.
The Six Principles of Influence
- Reciprocation. The rule of reciprocation states: We should try to repay, in kind, what another person has provided us. Research shows that there is no human society that does not subscribe to the rule. Trigger by uninvited favours. This rule results in the lowering of the natural inhibitions against transactions.
- Commitment and Consistency. This principles is triggered by our obsessive desire to be (and appear) consistent with what we have already done. The drive to be (and look) consistent constitutes a highly potent weapon of social influence, often causing us to act in ways that are clearly contrary to our own best interests. Once we have made a personal choice or taken a stand, we will encounter personal and interpersonal pressures to behave consistently with that commitment.
- Social Proof. One means we use to determine what is correct is to find out what other people think is correct. The principle applies especially to the way we decide what constitutes correct behaviour. We view a behaviour as more correct in a given situation to the degree that we see others performing it.
- Liking. Few people would be surprised to learn that, as a rule, we most prefer to say yes to the requests of someone we know and like.
- Authority. It is the extreme willingness of adults to go to almost any lengths on the command of an authority that is the focus of this principle. We are trained from birth that obedience to proper authority is right and proper. Information from a recognized authority can provide us a valuable shortcut for deciding how to act in a situation.
- Scarcity. Opportunities seem more valuable to us when their availability is limited. The idea of potential loss play a large role in human decision making. People seem to be more motivated by the thought of losing something than by the thought of gaining something of equal value. We know that the things that are difficult to possess are typically better than those that are easy to possess, we can often use an item’s availability to help us quickly and correctly decide on its quality.
The book is very well written and contains numerous examples from research to support each of the principles. It seemed to me that the principles are well supported by academic research, the book successfully present the strong basis of research in a manner that is compelling and practical. The book is especially useful to anyone wanting to persuade and influence. The book is the only one that I’m aware of that provides a well research basis for influence, the article “Harnessing the Science of Persuasion” published in Harvard Business Review, by the author, in my mind provides ample support for the solid research base.
I was constantly kept interested and intrigued by the examples and anecdotes, extracted from research, found cited extensively throughout the book. As I read, I was able to continually relate the principles and examples to experiences in my life, providing numerous “A-HA” moments along the way. The book does provide some practical examples, which gives an idea as to how the principles can be applied. I recommend this book to anyone in management, leadership, marketing, consulting or in positions that require persuasion.
Technorati Tags: Influence, Communication, Marketing, Leadership, Management, Persuasion, Book, Book Review
Mar
1
Nine Lives of Leadership ebook
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800-CEO-Read has made the ebook the Nine Lives of Leadership, by Lisa Haneberg, from Management Craft fame, available for free. It’s a great leadership resource for all leaders and managers and the read. A sneak preview of the the Table of Contents for whet you appetite:
- Go Deep Fast - Develop Strong Relationships As A Catalyst For Success
- Organic leadership - Learn from the career paths of highly successful mega-leaders
- HOT Teams and Getting into the Mood - Improve results and satisfaction by optimizing team member performance
- Let’s Get Radical - Add energy and velocity to you and your employees’ career growth
- The Start-up Spirit - Infuse your employees’ work environments with the energy of a start-up while leveraging their well-established systems and processes
- The Clarity State - Make tough decisions in an easier and more effective manner
- Organizational DNA - Determine your organization’s predominant style and use this information to more effectively drive change
- Emotional Acumen - Increase employees’ impact and influence with others
- Betting at Work - Up your odds for success and take control of your destiny
Technorati Tags: Leadership, Resource, ebook, Management, Book, Business, Teams
Feb
22
Book Review: Execution
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The history of business is littered with organisations with excellent strategies, which failed due to poor execution. The greatest strategy does not mean a thing, without the ability to execute it! This is where the book Execution: The disciple of getting things done by Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan can help. It’s an “in your face” book, describing the discipline needed to get things done in large corporations. The book is targeted at those practicing leadership at the business unit and organisational levels. The book reterts to execution as “the gap between what a company’s leaders want to achieve and the ability of their organizations to deliver it“. The book is authored by:
- Larry Bossidy the chairman and CEO of Honeywell International, Inc. He also served as a CEO for Allied Signal between 1991 and 1999. Larry is widely acknowledge for the transformation of AlliedSignal into one of the world’s most admired companies. He also served in a number of executive positions at the General Electric Company.
- Ram Charan an advisor to CEO’s and senior executives for a broad range of organisations, a author of What the CEO wants You to Know and Boards that Work. He has also contributed numerous articles for Harvard Business Review. Ram has a D.B.A and M.B.A. from Harvard Business School where is taught.
- Charles Burke a writer and editor, previously a successful editor at the Fortune magazine.
The primary purpose of the book is to give the reader an understanding of what it takes to execute, that is, to get things done in organisations. They describe execution as a discipline, “built a company’s strategy, its goals, and its culture“.
The book is divided into three parts:
Part I: Why Execution is Needed
We all understand the importance of execution, unless we act on our plans they’re essentially useless, and as the authors point out, most strategies fail as the result of poor execution, and not due to poor strategic planning, this covers part I!
Part II: The Building Blocks of Execution
According to the authors Execution consist of the following three building blocks:
Building Block 1: The Leaders Seven Essential Behaviors: Which are as follows:
- Know your people and your business - “Leaders have to live their businesses. In companies that don’t execute, the leaders are usually out of touch with the day-to-day realities”. This is something that I have observed in large corporations, the phrase “ivory tower” comes to mind, leaders spend too much time in their offices and too little time with their people.
- Insist on realism - “Realism is the heart of execution, but many organizations are full of people who are trying to avoid or shade reality”.
- Set clear goals and priorities - “Leaders who execute focus on a very few clear priorities that everyone can grasp.”
- Follow through - “The failure to follow through is wide spread in business, and a major cause of poor execution”
- Reward the doers - “If you want people to produce specific results, you reward them according”
- Expand people’s capabilities - “Coaching is the single most important part of expanding others’ capabilities”
- Know yourself - “Without what we call emotional fortitude, you can’t be honest with yourself, deal honestly with business and organisational realities, or give people forthright assessments.”
Building Block 2: Creating the Framework for Cultural Change: This involves changing “people’s behavior so that they produce results”, by “linking rewards to performance and making linkages transparent” and having “robust dialogue” as ultimately “leaders get the behavior they exhibit and tolerate”.
Building Block 3: The Job no Leader Should Delegate - Having the Right People in the Right Place: It essential to have the right people, especially those in leadership positions, in the right place. The authors believe that leaders should “contribute as much as 40 percent of their time and energy, in one form or another, to selecting, appraising, and developing people
Part III: The Three Core Processes of Execution
Part III discusses the three core processes that require focused management attention to ensure effective execution, namely:
- The People Process - “A robust people process does three things. It evaluates individuals accurately and in depth. It provides a framework for identifying and developing the leadership talent - at all levels and of all kinds - the organization will need to execute its strategies down the road. And it fills the leadership pipeline that’s the basis of a strong succession plan.” The people process is regarded by the authors as the most important of all three processes and the devote a large part of the book discussing the importance of candid discussion required to hold individuals accountable. The key is getting the right people in the right jobs.
- The Strategy Process - “a good strategy planning process also requires the utmost attention to the hows of executing the strategy” The authors emphasis the importance of creating strategies that involve all parties and encourage robust debate, appropriate resources and regular strategic reviews throughout the year.
- The Operations Process - “The strategy process defines where a business wants to go, the people process defines who’s going to get it there. The operating plan provides the path for those people. It breaks long-term output into short-term targets.”
The authors view these processes as the real job of executing a business strategy, keeping the organisation social systems real and honest through robust dialogue.
Conclusion
The book is logically developed and well organised conveying concepts and knowledge clearly. A feature of the book that I enjoyed is the short pieces throughout the book from the Larry Bossidy and Ram Charan, written in the first person, giving a personal insight into the the topic under discussion. After reading these comments made by the author,s you’re struck by their street smarts obviously through extensive experience in the “school of life”. This results in pragmatic recommendations.
The book is practical, in that the authors provide helpful suggestions based upon their extensive experience. Although their arguments are sound and well presented I’m left with the nagging feeling that there are few leaders with the emotional maturity and courage to apply the process’s as effectively and easily as described. This view, I feel is accurate, as in July 2001 Larry Bossidy was asked by the board of directors of Honeywell International, after it merged with AlliedSignal to return and get the company back on track. This given that the management of AlliedSignal had extensive exposure to the culture of execution.
This book gets a buy recommendation from me, especially for management in a business unit or organisational leadership position. Small and medium organisations may not find all the ideas and suggestions relevant to them as smaller businesses as generally smaller organisations have highly engaged management with little room for non-performers to hide.
Tom Peter’s rated this his best book of 2005, stating:
“My choice as my favorite Biz Book of 2005 is Execution: The Discipline of Getting Things Done, by Larry Bossidy (& Ram Charan)…… Amazingly it is, as I see it, the 1st & only book wholly devoted to “getting things done,” and the 1st and only book that suggests the there is a describable, “systematic” “discipline” (and “culture”) of getting things done.”
Technorati Tags: Book Review, Execution, Management, Career, Entrepreneurship, Business, Organisational Leadership, Business Unit Leadership, Books,
Feb
11
The Fred Factor
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The small book titled The Fred Factor
The book proposes three simple yet powerful principles:
1) Everyone Makes a Difference
The fact is that everybody is already making a difference every day. The key question is, What kind of difference is each of us making?
To be someone who makes a difference everyday, you need to be doing something that you love and are passionate about. To make a difference you need to be aware as you journey through your day, looking for opportunities to “make a difference”. Audit your day asking, “What kind of difference did I make today?”
As Tom Peters says, he doesn’t want his tomestone to read….
“Thomas Peters, He Would Have Done Great Things, But His Boss Wouldn’t Let Him.”
2) Success is Built on Relationships
What percentage of your interactions with others is transactional as opposed to relational?
Relational interections as opposed to transactional interactions recognise that how people are treated is as imporatnt as the outcome! Relationships require an investment of your time, however the higher quality results produced by strong relationships is well worth the effort.
3) You must continually create value for others, and it doesn’t have to cost a penny.
The truth is that you compete against your own potential every day. And most of us fall short of what we are capable of doing and being.
Look for ways to add that which will create value for others by adding the good stuff and subtracting the bad stuff!
Tom Peters recently posted manifesto states:
“To live is the rarest thing in the world. Most people exist, that is all.”
How about you?
Technorati Tags: Book, Attitude, Management, Personal Development
Jan
28
Free Tony Robbins Goals Workbook
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Tony Robbins is offering a free 18-page workbook called The Power of Momentum: 7 Steps to a Fulfilling 2006, to help you set your 2006 goals if you haven’t already, or to use for next year (just update the years in the book if you print it out and save it). The 7 Steps are:
- Get Clear.
- Get Certain.
- Get Excited.
- Get Focused.
- Get Committed.
- Get Momentum.
- Get Smart.
Via: Steve Pavlina
Technorati Tags: Personal Leadership, Personal Development, Leadership Resources
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