The Leading-Edge Manager's Guide to Success: Strategies and Better Practices, with Website

Preface xv

How to Use This Book xv

Why Feature Leadership Stories throughout This Book? xvii

Electronic Media Available xvii

Acknowledgments xix

Part I Selecting the Mountain and Your Guides

Chapter 1 Creating a Vision of What You Want to Achieve 3

Neuro-Linguistic Programming 3

Influencing the Environment 4

Chapter 2 Find Out about Yourself 7

Personal Baggage 7

Courses to Attend 8

Locking in a New Behavior Trait 10

Inner Disarmament 13

Chapter 3 Locating a Mentor 15

Why You Need a Mentor 15

How to Find a Mentor 17

How to Ask Someone to Be Your Mentor 17

Types of Mentors 18

Some Mentoring Better Practices 18

Chapter 4 Finding the Right Organization for You 21

Working under a Great CEO 21

Working for a Great Manager 22

A Great Leader 22

Part II Getting Prepared For Management

Chapter 5 Creating Winning Personal Habits 33

Treasure Mapping 33

Self-Recognition 35

Recognition of Others 36

Making Decisions 37

Do Not Run Out of Fuel 39

Continuous Innovation 41

Learn How to “Post-It” Reengineer 42

Mind Mapping 43

Business Etiquette 45

Managing Relationships 45

Cell Phone Etiquette 45

Greeting the Guest 46

Remember You/Remember Me 47

Disengaging Swiftly and Politely 47

Full Attention at Meetings 48

Returning Phone Calls 48

Golden Rules with Email 49

Chapter 6 Developing Winning Work Habits 53

Attend a One Week Management Course 53

How to Help Your Boss Be Successful 54

How to Handle a “Bully of a Boss” 57

Time Management: The Basics 58

The 4:00 P.M. Friday Weekly Planner 63

Power Dressing 63

Preparing for Your Performance Review 64

Preparing a Monthly Progress Report 64

Quality Assurance Checks 64

Contributing to Your Organization’s Intranet 67

Making the Most out of Your Computer Applications 67

In Pursuit of Slow 68

Better-Practice Graphics 68

Delivering Bulletproof PowerPoint Presentations 70

Searching the Web Efficiently 77

Interview Techniques 78

Chapter 7 Part Two Progress Checklist 81

Thirteen-Week Change Program 81

Lessons from Sir Edmund Hillary’s Expeditions 81

Part III Being a Better Manager

Chapter 8 Improving Team Performance: The Basics 91

Attending Further Management Courses 91

Staff Debriefing at the End of the Day 92

Attracting the Best Staff to the Team 92

Getting the Right Staff 93

Getting the Induction Process Right 93

Set Up Monthly One-on-One Progress Meetings with Direct Reports 94

Performance Reviews that Work 95

Hold Offsite Meetings for the Team at Least Twice a Year 97

Make Work Fun 98

In-House Satisfaction Survey 100

Getting a Bigger “Bang” for Your Training Dollar 102

Managing Staff on Sick Leave 103

Stress Management 104

Apply Pareto’s 80/20 Principle in Your Work 104

Maintain a Focus on Materiality 105

Chapter 9 Improving Team Performance: The Cutting Edge 107

Implementing “Action Meetings” Methods 107

Hourly Meeting Cost 111

Check the Need for the Meeting 111

Ban Morning Meetings 112

Learn How to Negotiate 112

The Hidden Cost of Downsizing 113

Dismissing a Poor-Performing Employee 114

The Overnight Challenge 116

Use the One-Minute-Manager Techniques 116

Introduce a Team Balanced Scorecard 116

Lessons from a World-Class Coach 118

Chapter 10 Effective Recruiting 123

Understand That Time Spent Recruiting Is the Most Valuable Time 123

Cathay Pacific Recruitment 124

Peter Drucker’s Five-Step Process 124

14 Great Questions to Help Get Select ‘A’ Players 125

Using the Organization’s Values in Recruiting 125

Involve the Human Resources Team 125

Use Simulation Exercises and Psychometric Testing 126

Assessment Centers 126

Involve Your Team in the Final Selection Process 127

Ask Your Top Employees for Referrals 127

Reference Checks: The Do’s and Don’ts 128

Selecting an Executive Assistant to Be Your Copilot 129

Chapter 11 Becoming More Financially Aware 131

Understand Your Financial Responsibilities as a Budget Holder 131

Understanding Internal Controls 132

Understand Your Organization’s Financial Statements 132

Balance Sheet or the Statement of Financial Position 133

Statement of Profit and Loss 135

Source and Disposition of Funds 136

Chapter 12 Developing Your Selling Skills 139

Selling a New Process through “Emotional Drivers” 139

Always Pre-Sell Your Proposals 140

Selling Your Team to Your Peers 141

Chapter 13 Working Smart with the Outside World 143

Supplier Relationships 143

Seeking Publicity 145

Using Outside Consultants Effectively 145

Chapter 14 Part Three Progress Checklist 155

A Bulldog Who Never Gave Up: Churchill’s Leadership Lessons 155

Part IV Being A Leader Who Makes A Difference

Chapter 15 Learning Must Never Stop 165

A Constant Thirst for Knowledge 165

The Thinking of Jeremy Hope 166

The Thinking of Harry Mills 166

Chapter 16 Key Performance Indicators Can Transform Your Organization 169

The Great KPI Misunderstanding 169

The 10/80/10 Rule 170

Characteristics of a KPI 173

Importance of Identifying the Critical Success Factors 175

The Balanced Scorecard 176

Winning KPIs Link Day-to-Day Activities to Strategy 177

Implementing Winning KPIs 178

Use the Emotional Drivers When Selling Winning KPIs 178

If Your KPIs Are Not Working, Throw Them Out and Start Again 179

Importance of Daily CEO Follow-Up 180

Chapter 17 Reporting Performance Measures in a Balanced Way 181

Reporting Measures Daily, Weekly, Monthly 181

How KPIs and Financial Reporting Fit Together 186

Chapter 18 Making a Difference in the Senior Management Team 187

Your Involvement with the Organization’s Intranet 187

Your Ability to Lead 189

Your Competency with Technology 191

Your Ability to Work in the “Not Urgent and Important” Quadrant 191

Your Ability to Finish 192

Your Commitment to Human Resources Management Techniques 193

Chapter 19 Finding Your Organization’s Critical Success Factors 195

Few Organizations Know Their Critical Success Factors 195

Definition of Critical Success Factors 196

Identifying Organization-wide Critical Success Factors 196

Identifying Organization-wide CSFs: A Three-Stage Process 198

Chapter 20 Special Organizations 203

Cathay Pacific Recruiting Frontline Staff Born with the Ability to Serve 203

Building an Organization That Works in the Fourth Dimension: SMASH 205

Toyota’s 15-Year Advantage 210

Management Practices by the Pier Nine Restaurant 214

Chapter 21 Making Your Day More Successful 219

Managing Your Scarcest Resource: Your Time 219

Revolutionizing the Working Day 221

Planning a Sabbatical 223

Bring Back the Morning Tea Break 223

SMT Lunches and the Monthly Team Breakfast 224

Focusing on One’s Goals During the Day 225

Chapter 22 Reporting to the Board 227

Selling the Change to the Board 227

Costing Board Papers 228

Scoping Information Requests 228

Avoiding Rewrites of Board Reports 230

Tabling Board Papers Electronically 230

Do Not Give the Board “Management Information” 231

Training Session for All Writers of Board Papers 231

Set Timely Board Meetings Less Frequently 232

Using a Dashboard to Report Key Result Indicators to the Board 234

Chapter 23 Annual Planning Is Not Working 239

Throw Out Your Annual Planning and Associated Monthly Budget Cycle 239

If You Must Keep an Annual Plan, Do It in Two Weeks 241

Chapter 24 Quarterly Rolling Forecasting and Planning 247

The Quarterly Rolling Forecast 247

QRF Quickly Creates the Annual Plan Goalposts 250

QRP Creates a Quarter-by-Quarter Funding Mechanism 250

QRF Is Based on a Planning Application—Not on Excel 251

QRF Should Be Based on the Key Drivers 251

QRF Has a Fast, Light Touch (Completed in One Week) 254

Chapter 25 CEO Feedback 255

Managing One’s Ego 255

Measuring Your Performance as a CEO 255

Chapter 26 Implement Reporting That Works 259

Daily/Weekly Reporting 259

Month-End Reporting 260

Snapshot of All Projects Currently Started 268

Reporting the Strategic Objectives/Risks/Costs Pressures 271

The One-Page Investment Proposal 271

Chapter 27 Seeking Staff Opinion on a Regular Basis 277

A Staff Survey Run Three or Four Times a Year 277

Designing a Staff Survey 278

Chapter 28 Importance of the Human Resources Team 281

Selecting the Right People for the Business 281

Reducing the Need to Recruit 282

Reducing Recruitment Costs 282

Developing Managers and Staff 282

Enhancing the Organization’s Performance through Changing the Culture 283

Savings through Reducing Sick-Pay Payments 283

Managers Do Not Have the Time and Expertise to Be HR Experts 283

Steps You Can Take Right Now 285

Chapter 29 Performance Bonus Schemes 287

The Billion-Dollar Giveaway 287

The Foundation Stones 287

Chapter 30 Avoiding a Rotten Takeover or Merger 299

How Mergers Go Wrong 299

Alternatives to a TOM 305

Chapter 31 The Perils of Restructuring 307

Why Do We Appear to Have an Addiction to Reorganization? 307

Typical Reasons for a Reorganization 308

Before You Look at a Reorganization 313

Chapter 32 Becoming a Serving Leader: A Viking with a Mother’s Heart 315

Five Foundation Stones of a Serving Leader 316

Areas of Focus for a Serving Leader 325

Crisis Management 326

Abandonment 327

Recruiting Your Team 328

Abundance of Positive Energy 328

Develop and Maintain Relationships 330

Student of Psychology 331

Seeing the Future 332

Focus on Learning and Innovation 333

Finishing What You Start 334

Develop, Engage, and Trust 335

Valuing Results and People 338

Accumulate Experience 339

A Viking with a Mother’s Heart 339

Chapter 33 Part Four Progress Checklist 341

Twelve-Week Change Program 341

Appendix A In-House Customer Satisfaction Survey 347

Appendix B List of Success Factors 353

Appendix C Intranet Content Checklist 357

Appendix D Recognition Letters 365

Appendix E Focus Group Meeting Workshop 367

Appendix F Putting Your Support behind Initiatives 369

Appendix G Staff-Satisfaction Survey 371

Appendix H A 360-Degree Feedback Questionnaire Suitable for a CEO 373

Index 377