Winning summary

Managers often relegate the task of people management – that is, keeping your staff motivated and helping them to develop and work together – to the sidelines while they focus on strategy, products, sourcing, and pretty much everything else. But good people management is one of the best ways a manager can help their company.

Hence, make it a priority. Start by elevating the status of human resources (HR) management. The head of HR should have at least as important a role in the company as the chief financial officer. Populate the HR department with individuals you think can help your employees to advance their careers and develop as leaders.

Great people are everywhere, but finding them is difficult. Before you even consider hiring someone, ensure they pass three acid tests:

First, they must have integrity, meaning they are candid, honest and reputable.

Leadership is all about developing your people. Evaluate them, coach them and inspire them every chance you get. Tell them about your vision for the company, encourage them to live and breathe your vision, and reward those who do.

Sometimes leadership is about being a shining beacon of inspiration. Negativity, distrust and fear can paralyze any organization; hence, you must exude a contagious positive energy that helps everyone stay optimistic and confident in the face of challenges.

“Mission statement” and “values” are surely two of the most overused and misunderstood concepts in business. Too often, senior management will debate these topics for days, only to come up with platitudes like “Our mission is to be a customer-driven company” and “We value quality and integrity.” Is there a company on earth that wouldn’t espouse these vague statements? Good mission statements and values are so tangible you can almost hit someone in the face with them.

An effective mission statement basically just answers the question “How do we intend to win in this business?” GE, for example, decided they would be number one or number two in every market they operated in, fixing or getting rid of every one of their businesses where this was not the case. This is an effective mission: specific, descriptive, ambitious.

Strategy is not rocket science, nor complicated academics. The core of any strategy is a so-called big aha: a smart way to gain a sustainable competitive advantage.

You find the big aha by assembling your senior management to analyze and discuss your business. Start by examining your current playing field. Who are your customers and competitors? What’s the market like? This discussion alone can be surprisingly enlightening, as a variety of viewpoints emerges.

The traditional budgeting process – the battle of numbers between headquarters and field managers ­– is one of the most ineffective exercises in all of business.

Say headquarters wants a division to deliver 12 percent growth the next year, whereas the division manager insists 6 percent is far more realistic. Headquarters wants to set the goals high, but the division manager wants to set easy goals to ensure his performance bonus.

Starting something new in business, whether launching a new product or entering a new market, is very exciting; but for any new venture to succeed, you need to give it lots of love and special treatment. Don’t make the all too common mistake of under-doing and under-spending; no venture can survive with poor resources and lackluster people.

Instead, put your smartest and most passionate people on the new business and grant them a lot of freedom and autonomy – they are, after all, like entrepreneurs! Make a big hoopla about them, give them plenty of resources and act as their cheerleader every chance you have; they need all the support they can get! You’ll look like an idiot if they fail, but that is a risk you must take.

Most people acknowledge that change is a critical part of any business, but they hate it nonetheless. When The Times of London changed to tabloid format, the editor got an email asking how it felt to be the person responsible for the fall of Western civilization.

One reason employees hate change initiatives is because they often don’t understand the reasons behind the change. This makes every initiative seem like just another flavor of the month, to be ignored till it goes away.

As long as companies are made up of human beings, mistakes, controversies and integrity violations will happen. They are inevitable and often spin out of control into full-blown crises.

For example, one of GE’s sales managers was caught bribing a general in the Israeli Air Force, which embroiled GE in a huge scandal. Another time, GE was accused of defrauding the US government by filing inaccurate timecards at a plant that made missile cones.

People rarely know exactly what they want to do at the start of their career. For example, the CEO of Procter & Gamble, A.G. Lafley, originally wanted to be a professor of Renaissance history.

The fact is, finding a great job makes your life much more rewarding and exciting. Consider the man Jack Welch once met on holiday who gushed with pride as he proclaimed he was the “first mercury-free dentist in Quechee, Vermont!” Only genuine excitement in what you do can produce such enthusiasm.

While careers are never entirely predictable and always involve an element of chance, there are certain behaviors that certainly help you become successful.

Start by exceeding everyone’s expectations; everyone loves positive surprises. Be upbeat and enthusiastic, perform phenomenally, and actively expand the horizons of your job. Take the lead in championing new projects and initiatives at your company, especially the ones that others seem too busy to take on.