Winning Now, Winning Later summary

When it came time for Cote to make his first Earnings Per Share (EPS) projection, he got a rude surprise. Honeywell’s divisions had all been working hard to meet unrealistic financial targets, using all kinds of short-term accounting tricks to boost their stats. As a result, Cote was forced to lower the projected earnings by 20 percent. You don’t have to be Warren Buffet to guess how Wall Street felt about that!

There’s a lesson here: all the hard work in the world doesn’t mean anything if it’s taking you in the wrong direction. 

Have you ever walked into a kitchen full of dirty dishes that you didn’t use? This exact situation has led to millions of arguments between roommates, and for good reason: nobody likes to clean up a mess they didn’t create!

But sometimes you don’t have a choice. When you take a leadership role in a company, you’ll inherit legacy issues – problems that were caused by the previous management, sometimes going back decades. It can be tempting to leave them for a later date but don’t give in to temptation. The only way to win now and win later is to roll up your sleeves and clean the mess up yourself.

How do you get ready in the morning? You probably have a routine in mind: wake up, shower, shave, grab a coffee . . . something along those lines. That’s an example of a process, a set of actions that help you achieve a particular goal.

But how often do you really examine your processes? Could you write out every single detail of your morning routine, right down to how many seconds it takes for you to brush your teeth? Probably not. That might not be a big deal when it comes to making coffee, but it won’t cut it when running a business.

What do you want to accomplish today, and why? You’ve probably got some short-term goals in mind, like finishing a project — or something small, like sending an email. Unless anything unforeseen happens you probably know how to complete them. But now extend that timeframe, and think about your goals for the next year, or even the next decade. They’re likely bigger and more abstract. Do you know how to reach those goals?

A company’s culture is what links short- and long-term goals by establishing systems of behavior that allow it to succeed over any timeframe and ensure that everyone stays motivated and knows that they’re supported by others. Set a good culture, and success will follow.

Ever heard the saying that too many cooks spoil a soup? The idea’s simple – sometimes, too many people involved in decision-making can lead to worse results. A business isn’t a kitchen, but the same principle applies when discussing leadership. You need enough managers to operate efficiently and effectively, but no more. Past a certain point, additional leaders are just deadweight, creating more work for everyone involved.

The key message here is: Use efficient processes and rigorous performance reviews to build a lean but powerful leadership corps.

Picture this: On the one hand, you’ve got a customer demanding you manufacture a tricky order ASAP. On the other, you’ve got a scientist in the R&D department asking for more time and money to develop a new high-tech material. You don’t have enough money to give them both all of what they’re asking for. What should you do? Who takes priority?

It may seem like an impossible task, but corporate leaders have to deal with this kind of decision every day. As you can probably guess by now, there is indeed a way to increase revenues in the short-term and invest more in the Research and Development (R&D) that’ll keep you on top in the long run.