It's Not What You Say… It's What You Do
Becoming a winner, a loser, a climber or tumbler in any industry is not the result of finding (or failing to find) the perfect strategy for your organisation. What, then, makes or breaks a company's performance?
It is its grasp, according to management guru Laurence Haughton's new book about what he considers to be management's most basic mission - to make sure everyone at every level follows through. More than that. Whatever the course of action, it must be executed flawlessly. How you follow through at every level can make or break your company.
'It's Not What You Say...It's What You Do' is about the experiences of a group of managers, organised into four building blocks.
These are - having a clear direction so that everyone understands where they are heading; matching the right people to every goal; getting off to a great start with plenty of buy-in; and finally making sure everyone maintains momentum by increasing individual initiative.
Larry Haughton's managers show how they've cracked the code of following through, step by step, to achieve new levels of thoroughness and reliability in tough competitive environments, and how they deal with CAVE people (citizens against virtually everything).
How do you get every employee to understand where your business is going? How can you give clear direction to your team when leadership itself is fuzzy? Do you tell your boss straight out: 'your directives are ambiguous?' And how do you make expectations crystal clear?
The answers are 1. by setting smart goals, crisply redefined, measurable, accountable, realistic and timed; 2. by communicating more effectiely - expectations aren't clear until everyone knows the steps they are required to take and how these connect with the team mission, and 3. when you are stuck in the middle...negotiate and when the boss isn't clear, get him engaged and listen.
US and UK recruitment practices are clearly developing along similar lines. It's not so much relevant experience and track record that count in today's fast-changing world. It's more the qualities you bring to the party and the quality of the contribution you can make.
In the UK, a young ASDA manager becomes retail director of HBOS (a top bank and building society) and in July takes over as chief executive; and a Dutch brewer has just beaten all competition to become chief executive of Morrisons, one of the UK's four leading supermarket chains.
Yet despite his 20 year career of frontline experience in manufacturing, retail, media and service industries and his capacity to dig deep under the surface to produce a galaxy of realistic, real-life anecdotes, the author concludes with the view that most managers are over-confident. 'They feel they can take on any situation' Even the CAVE people.
What I like about this book is the author's passion for traditional, old-fashioned, thoroughness, whether it involves eficient follow-through or flawless execution.
What distinguishes this book from most other business books is its note of realism - real managers talking , facing problems- and managing. The author's wide experience and gift for analysis and dialogue make it a must for younger, aspiring managers and for more seasoned executives who will relate to many familiar situations and almost certainly gain fresh insights and inspiration.