5 December 2007
Management Training: 10 Mistakes Managers Make
Your Business Blogger was honored to be interviewed for a podcast some time ago by Anita Campbell of Small Business Trends.
“Top 10 Mistakes Small Business Owners Make with Their Employees.”
10 Mistakes Every Manager Makes: And How To Correct Them
1) What is the biggest complaint you hear from managers?
Lack of time…
2) What do you see as the biggest challenge managers face?
Delegation; getting completed staff work…
3) What do you see the real job of a manager is?
Getting work done through people…
4) So how’s the best way to get this done?
Persuasion…
5) The manager as nice guy? Don’t they finish last?
No surprises…
6) How can a manager have certainty?
Benchmark expectations…
7) You write a lot about appearances. Isn’t beauty skin deep?
The soul of a man is in his clothes…
How do you advise managers in decision making?
Henry Ford: judgment and experience…
9) What tools do you recommend?
Personal personnel data base…
10) All the military examples – isn’t hierarchy on its way out? Aren’t most high performance teams using a matrix management structure?
Budget, promotions…
11) What is the biggest challenge female managers face? And how should they fix it?
Negotiation skills…
Backgrounder: The most valuable possession a leader can have is discretionary management time. To be efficient and effective. Here’s how.
We all want military-like discipline as we run our business units.
The Army has the perfect definition for discipline. It has two components. Most would be familiar with the first part:
1) Prompt obedience to orders.
But it’s the second part that managers really need from subordinates:
2) Initiation of appropriate action in the absence of orders.
Most often, we think prompt obedience will get the manager more time. Efficiency.
But what most managers really need is initiative from their team. More effectiveness.
This is a review of the basics to get more discipline in your business.
Following are 10 tips to remember, on avoiding mistakes as you knock about your office:
Delegation Desk
1) Desk. Think of your desk as a pyramid with the apex pointing up. Paper does not rest on your desk, nor your boss’s desk.
Scheduling Calendar
2) Calendar. If an action comes to you from a subordinate, it should only require a decision. If you cannot make a decision immediately, direct your staff to return later with more detail. Open your calendar and you both set an appointment.
Follow-up Phone
3) Telephone. Get the resources your staff needs to accomplish the project.
Persuasion 4)
Shoe leather. Management by walking around made the rounds a few years ago and is still useful if you need to plant your boot on a backside. Or to deliver an atta-boy in real life. The most effective persuasion is done face-to-face. Toe to toe. Walk over and overwhelm in person.
Human Touch
5) Fountain Pen. A hand-written note, black ink, heavy card stock, delivered by snail mail. Your cursive writing will almost balance your cursive yelling.
Benchmark
6) Ruler. Your standards and measurements should be open and transparent. A subordinate should never be surprised by personnel evaluations.
Dress Uniform.
7) Rank. Your appearance should mirror your boss’ boss’ boss. Not your staff. You must be seen to be different.
Hands Free
Briefcase. Do not carry papers in your briefcase. You get paid for your wisdom in making decisions. Not schlepping around pulp.
Exchange technology for labor
9) Laptop. With a detailed dossier on everyone you know.
Heaven is Hierarchy
10) Blackberry. A typical span of control is 10. An Army squad. A football team.
You will notice one office accoutrement not listed above: A clock. This was not an exercise in time management.
More time to simply think and to dispense wisdom. True discipline will give you those moments to reflect, per chance to dream.
The clock will now become your friend.
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Read the original article here. Listen to the podcast here.
BIO/Intro:
Jack Yoest is a management consultant in the high technology and biotechnology sectors, drawing on his expertise in operations and sales and marketing, and senior management training. Jack has managed entrepreneurial, start-up ventures, which included medical device companies, high technology, software manufacturers, and business consulting companies.
Jack also served as a gubernatorial appointee in the Administration of Governor James Gilmore in the Commonwealth of Virginia, serving as the Assistant Secretary for Health and Human Resources, acting as the Chief Operating Officer of the $5 billion budget. During his tenure in state government, Jack acted as the Chief Technology Officer for the Secretariat, where he was responsible for the successful Year 2000 (Y2K) conversion for the 16,000-employee unit.
Previously, Jack served as a manager with Menlo Care, a medical device manufacturer. While at Menlo, he was a part of the team that moved sales from zero to over $12 million, resulting in a buy-out by a medical division of Johnson & Johnson.
A former Captain in the United States Army, having served in Combat Arms and on the U.S. Armor and Engineer Board, Jack directed research and conducted testing, and recommended solutions to problems in night vision and electro-optics.
Jack earned an MBA from George Mason University and completed graduate work in the International Operations Management Program at Oxford University. His under graduate degree is in education.
His publications include “Doing Business in the Values Vacuum,” an article syndicated by Scripps-Howard News Service to over 350 newspapers worldwide. (And ghostwriter for high profile managers, including a Presidential candidate.)
Assignments have included:
Serving as Chief Operating Officer of Job Accord, a multi-national human resource company
President of Distro-Cal, a marketing company in the advertising specialty industry;
Managing the transfer of patented biotechnology from the National Institutes of Health to his client, which enabled the company to raise $25 million in venture capital funding.
Vice President of Certified Marketing Services International, an ISO 9000 business-consulting firm, where he assisted international companies in human resource certification.
President of Computer Applications Development and Integration, the premier provider of software solutions for the criminal justice market.
Jack competes in 26.2-mile marathon runs, and he and his wife, Charmaine Yoest, Ph.D., who is an author and a political commentator, live in the Washington, D.C. area with their five children.
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