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A manager’s output = the output of his organization + the output of the neighboring organizations under his influence.
“When a person is not doing his job, there can only be two reasons for it. The person either can’t do it or won’t do it; he is either not capable or not motivated.” This insight enables a manager to dramatically focus her efforts. All you can do to improve the output of an employee is motivate and train. There is nothing else.
which of the activities—information-gathering, information-giving, decision-making, nudging, and being a role model—could I have performed outside a meeting? The answer is practically none. Meetings provide an occasion for managerial activities. Getting together with others is not, of course, an activity—it is a medium. You as a manager can do your work in a meeting, in a memo, or through a loudspeaker for that matter. But you must choose the most effective medium for what you want to accomplish, and that is the one that gives you the greatest leverage.
“The good time users among managers do not talk to their subordinates about their problems but they know how to make the subordinates talk about theirs.”
The supervisor’s effort at a staff meeting should go into keeping the discussion on track, with the subordinates bearing the brunt of working the issues.
remember that by saying “yes”—to projects, a course of action, or whatever—you are implicitly saying “no” to something else.
A successful MBO system needs only to answer two questions: 1. Where do I want to go? (The answer provides the objective.) 2. How will I pace myself to see if I am getting there? (The answer gives us milestones, or key results.)
The Ph.D. in computer science who knows an answer in the abstract, yet does not apply it to create some tangible output, gets little recognition, but a junior engineer who produces results is highly valued and esteemed. And that is how it should be.
So it appears that at the upper level of the need hierarchy, when one is self-actualized, money in itself is no longer a source of motivation but rather a measure of achievement. Money in the physiological- and security-driven modes only motivates until the need is satisfied, but money as a measure of achievement will motivate without limit.
The presence or absence of monitoring, as we’ve said before, is the difference between a supervisor’s delegating a task and abdicating it.
The fundamental variable that determines the effective management style is the task-relevant maturity of the subordinate.
imagine yourself delivering a tough performance review to your friend. Do you cringe at the thought? If so, don’t make friends at work. If your stomach remains unaffected, you are likely to be someone whose personal relationships will strengthen work relationships.
Technical/Skills describe some projects what are your weaknesses What He Did With Knowledge past achievements past failures Discrepancies what did you learn from failures problems in current position Operational Values why are you ready for new job why should my company hire you why should engineer be chosen for marketing most important college course/project The ultimate purpose of interviewing is to make a judgment about how the candidate would perform in your company’s environment.
Training is, quite simply, one of the highest-leverage activities a manager can perform.
Look at your calendar for the last week. Classify your activities as low-/medium-/high-leverage. Generate a plan of action to do more of the high-leverage category. (What activities will you reduce?)
What portion of your time is likely to be spent in meetings? Which of these are process-oriented meetings? Mission-oriented meetings? If the latter are over 25 percent of your total time, what should you do to reduce them?
