Social Cause Marketing - The Regis Group Inc

comes, the harder it is for a manager to
obtain all of the other resources he or
she wants to create value for other
people. Consequently, the worse the
economy gets, the more important the
role of the manager becomes. It is this
skill of converting resources, even limited
resources, into greater value that
ultimately moves an economy forward.
Keys to Great Management
Performance
Over the past eleven years, Iíve landed
on a variety of critical actions for managers
to do to deliver a truly great management
performance. What follows is
not a complete list, but it is a good
place to start.
Strengthen Your
Foundation First
Get yourself right first. Whatever
that means for you, I encourage you
to do it. The vast majority of management
blunders Iíve witnessed can be
traced back to the manager being
overly tired, stressed out, out of
shape, feeling guilty, or on the verge
of some other personal breakdown.
Examine your own physical, mental,
social, emotional, moral, and financial
situations. If youíre a spiritual
person, then throw that in as well. Is
your foundation where you want it
to be? If not, what few practical
things could you start with to improve
your foundation? By making
some progress and doing it over and
Dan Coughlin is a student and teacher of
practical processes to improve business
momentum. He has invested more than 3,000
hours on-site observing and advising executives
and managers in more than 30 industries. He is
a business keynote speaker, management
consultant, and author of the new book, The
Management 500: A High-Octane Formula for
Business (AMACOM 2009). If you want to read
Chapter One from this new book, click here:
http://www.thecoughlincompany. com/
The_Management_500_ch1.pdf. Dan’s clients
include Coca-Cola, Abbott, Toyota, Prudential,
Shell, Boeing, Marriott, McDonald’s, and the St.
Louis Cardinals. He speaks on leadership,
branding, sales, and innovation. He can be
visited at: www.thecoughlincompany. com.
SEPTEMBER 2009
over again, you will get yourself far
closer to where you want your foundation
to be. Iíve always been impressed
by the ripple effect a manager
has on other people when he or
she strengthens the foundation of
his or her life.
Know Why You Do What
You Do
Remember that passion comes from
purpose, not the other way around.
Why do you do what you do? What is
your purpose beyond the paycheck?
Since you are unlikely to be paid a
kingís ransom or to become famous as
a manager, you need a purpose for
your work that can sustain you
through good and bad economic
times.
Once youíre clear about your purpose
for doing the work you do, then
work with others to clarify the purpose
of the organization or work
group that you manage. Recently, I interviewed
Roy Spence and Haley
Rushing, authors of Itís Not What You
Sell, Itís What You Stand For, which is
the best book Iíve ever read on the importance
of establishing an organizational
purpose that resonates with
both employees and customers. Click
here to read my interview with Roy
and Haley called ìA Conversation on
Purpose: Insights on What Drives Extraordinary
Organizational Performanceî:
http://www.thecoughlincompany.com/conversation_on_
purpose.html
Take the Hardest Step in
Business
The hardest step in business is to step
back and think. Really think through
the desired outcomes, the various
paths to make those outcomes a reality,
the planned activities necessary to
stick to the path youíve chosen, and so
on. It is actually much easier to press
forward with action than to step back
and think through the ramifications.
Here is a real-life story of two senior-level
executives in a major corporation
that Iíll call Hare and Tortoise.
Hare was a driver-driver. If he had an
idea, he would push it into action
throughout the organization immediately.
Tortoiseís approach was to pose
21
The Noble and Necessary Job of a Manager
a desired outcome in the form of a
question, gather input, consider the
alternatives, and then guide the group
to deliver on a clear action plan using
a collaborative approach.
Hare was a rising star. He became
famous throughout the organization
for getting stuff done. Then one day
employees and customers started
leaving the organization. Every time
Hare had an idea he would send his
employees into motion immediately
to implement it. It didnít matter that
many of the ideas had no connection
to earlier ideas. Hare kept pushing
new actions through the organization
faster and faster and faster.
More employees and customers left.
Within a few years, the numbers
were so dramatically down that Hare
was let go.
Tortoise took over a few extremely
poor-performing business units. Instead
of rushing to make decisions, he
scheduled time to think. He brought
together a group of about 15 people to
discuss where the business was at,
where they wanted it to go, and how
they could get there. Using a collaborative
approach, the group steadily
made improvements. After five consecutive
years of great business performances,
Tortoise was promoted to another
underperforming business unit.
Same pattern: thinking time, group
time with a collaborative approach,
five years of great results, and another
promotion.
If you want to be a truly great manager,
take the hardest step in business.
Step back and think.
Manage Talent, Donít
Abandon It
Business talent is the ability to help
create value for customers that they
will want to pay for and that will
help the organization achieve its desired
goals. In the midst of all this
letting go of employees that has happened
over the past year, be sure
youíre not saving short-term results
only to ruin the long-term success of
your business. Ultimately, you have
to have talent in order to create more
value for your customers. Youíre not
going to make it all by yourself. Be
sure to keep as much of the real busi-
EFFECTIVE EXECUTIVE