The Leading-Edge Manager's Guide to Success: Strategies and Better Practices

Practical, commonsense advice on becoming an effective leader Examining the baggage that most managers have and then helping them to understand the personal traits that can limit their potential, this book guides you through the pathway of self development, then takes you through management and leadership better practices, providing many implementation tools. All you need to know when getting prepared for a 'management role' How to develop 'conquest leadership' attributes Traits to make you a 'winning' CEO Latest thinking on KPIs, quarterly rolling planning, decision based reporting and performance related pay How to create Winning Management and Leadershp Habits Examines how to become More Financially Aware This book is a very practical guide with templates, 'how to do it tools', stories about gifted leaders, checklists and examples and is devoid of all intellectual arguments on management. With directional guidance on what managers need to know in order to be able to manage and lead others, The Leading-Edge Manager's Guide to Success helps managers and 'managers to be' as they climb the 'management mountain'.

Table of Contents:
Preface xv How to Use This Book xv Why Feature Leadership Stories throughout This Book? xvii Electronic Media Available xvii Acknowledgments xix Part I Selecting the Mountain and Your Guides Chapter 1 Creating a Vision of What You Want to Achieve 3 Neuro-Linguistic Programming 3 Influencing the Environment 4 Chapter 2 Find Out about Yourself 7 Personal Baggage 7 Courses to Attend 8 Locking in a New Behavior Trait 10 Inner Disarmament 13 Chapter 3 Locating a Mentor 15 Why You Need a Mentor 15 How to Find a Mentor 17 How to Ask Someone to Be Your Mentor 17 Types of Mentors 18 Some Mentoring Better Practices 18 Chapter 4 Finding the Right Organization for You 21 Working under a Great CEO 21 Working for a Great Manager 22 A Great Leader 22 Part II Getting Prepared For Management Chapter 5 Creating Winning Personal Habits 33 Treasure Mapping 33 Self-Recognition 35 Recognition of Others 36 Making Decisions 37 Do Not Run Out of Fuel 39 Continuous Innovation 41 Learn How to “Post-It” Reengineer 42 Mind Mapping 43 Business Etiquette 45 Managing Relationships 45 Cell Phone Etiquette 45 Greeting the Guest 46 Remember You/Remember Me 47 Disengaging Swiftly and Politely 47 Full Attention at Meetings 48 Returning Phone Calls 48 Golden Rules with Email 49 Chapter 6 Developing Winning Work Habits 53 Attend a One Week Management Course 53 How to Help Your Boss Be Successful 54 How to Handle a “Bully of a Boss” 57 Time Management: The Basics 58 The 4:00 P.M. Friday Weekly Planner 63 Power Dressing 63 Preparing for Your Performance Review 64 Preparing a Monthly Progress Report 64 Quality Assurance Checks 64 Contributing to Your Organization’s Intranet 67 Making the Most out of Your Computer Applications 67 In Pursuit of Slow 68 Better-Practice Graphics 68 Delivering Bulletproof PowerPoint Presentations 70 Searching the Web Efficiently 77 Interview Techniques 78 Chapter 7 Part Two Progress Checklist 81 Thirteen-Week Change Program 81 Lessons from Sir Edmund Hillary’s Expeditions 81 Part III Being a Better Manager Chapter 8 Improving Team Performance: The Basics 91 Attending Further Management Courses 91 Staff Debriefing at the End of the Day 92 Attracting the Best Staff to the Team 92 Getting the Right Staff 93 Getting the Induction Process Right 93 Set Up Monthly One-on-One Progress Meetings with Direct Reports 94 Performance Reviews that Work 95 Hold Offsite Meetings for the Team at Least Twice a Year 97 Make Work Fun 98 In-House Satisfaction Survey 100 Getting a Bigger “Bang” for Your Training Dollar 102 Managing Staff on Sick Leave 103 Stress Management 104 Apply Pareto’s 80/20 Principle in Your Work 104 Maintain a Focus on Materiality 105 Chapter 9 Improving Team Performance: The Cutting Edge 107 Implementing “Action Meetings” Methods 107 Hourly Meeting Cost 111 Check the Need for the Meeting 111 Ban Morning Meetings 112 Learn How to Negotiate 112 The Hidden Cost of Downsizing 113 Dismissing a Poor-Performing Employee 114 The Overnight Challenge 116 Use the One-Minute-Manager Techniques 116 Introduce a Team Balanced Scorecard 116 Lessons from a World-Class Coach 118 Chapter 10 Effective Recruiting 123 Understand That Time Spent Recruiting Is the Most Valuable Time 123 Cathay Pacific Recruitment 124 Peter Drucker’s Five-Step Process 124 14 Great Questions to Help Get Select ‘A’ Players 125 Using the Organization’s Values in Recruiting 125 Involve the Human Resources Team 125 Use Simulation Exercises and Psychometric Testing 126 Assessment Centers 126 Involve Your Team in the Final Selection Process 127 Ask Your Top Employees for Referrals 127 Reference Checks: The Do’s and Don’ts 128 Selecting an Executive Assistant to Be Your Copilot 129 Chapter 11 Becoming More Financially Aware 131 Understand Your Financial Responsibilities as a Budget Holder 131 Understanding Internal Controls 132 Understand Your Organization’s Financial Statements 132 Balance Sheet or the Statement of Financial Position 133 Statement of Profit and Loss 135 Source and Disposition of Funds 136 Chapter 12 Developing Your Selling Skills 139 Selling a New Process through “Emotional Drivers” 139 Always Pre-Sell Your Proposals 140 Selling Your Team to Your Peers 141 Chapter 13 Working Smart with the Outside World 143 Supplier Relationships 143 Seeking Publicity 145 Using Outside Consultants Effectively 145 Chapter 14 Part Three Progress Checklist 155 A Bulldog Who Never Gave Up: Churchill’s Leadership Lessons 155 Part IV Being A Leader Who Makes A Difference Chapter 15 Learning Must Never Stop 165 A Constant Thirst for Knowledge 165 The Thinking of Jeremy Hope 166 The Thinking of Harry Mills 166 Chapter 16 Key Performance Indicators Can Transform Your Organization 169 The Great KPI Misunderstanding 169 The 10/80/10 Rule 170 Characteristics of a KPI 173 Importance of Identifying the Critical Success Factors 175 The Balanced Scorecard 176 Winning KPIs Link Day-to-Day Activities to Strategy 177 Implementing Winning KPIs 178 Use the Emotional Drivers When Selling Winning KPIs 178 If Your KPIs Are Not Working, Throw Them Out and Start Again 179 Importance of Daily CEO Follow-Up 180 Chapter 17 Reporting Performance Measures in a Balanced Way 181 Reporting Measures Daily, Weekly, Monthly 181 How KPIs and Financial Reporting Fit Together 186 Chapter 18 Making a Difference in the Senior Management Team 187 Your Involvement with the Organization’s Intranet 187 Your Ability to Lead 189 Your Competency with Technology 191 Your Ability to Work in the “Not Urgent and Important” Quadrant 191 Your Ability to Finish 192 Your Commitment to Human Resources Management Techniques 193 Chapter 19 Finding Your Organization’s Critical Success Factors 195 Few Organizations Know Their Critical Success Factors 195 Definition of Critical Success Factors 196 Identifying Organization-wide Critical Success Factors 196 Identifying Organization-wide CSFs: A Three-Stage Process 198 Chapter 20 Special Organizations 203 Cathay Pacific Recruiting Frontline Staff Born with the Ability to Serve 203 Building an Organization That Works in the Fourth Dimension: SMASH 205 Toyota’s 15-Year Advantage 210 Management Practices by the Pier Nine Restaurant 214 Chapter 21 Making Your Day More Successful 219 Managing Your Scarcest Resource: Your Time 219 Revolutionizing the Working Day 221 Planning a Sabbatical 223 Bring Back the Morning Tea Break 223 SMT Lunches and the Monthly Team Breakfast 224 Focusing on One’s Goals During the Day 225 Chapter 22 Reporting to the Board 227 Selling the Change to the Board 227 Costing Board Papers 228 Scoping Information Requests 228 Avoiding Rewrites of Board Reports 230 Tabling Board Papers Electronically 230 Do Not Give the Board “Management Information” 231 Training Session for All Writers of Board Papers 231 Set Timely Board Meetings Less Frequently 232 Using a Dashboard to Report Key Result Indicators to the Board 234 Chapter 23 Annual Planning Is Not Working 239 Throw Out Your Annual Planning and Associated Monthly Budget Cycle 239 If You Must Keep an Annual Plan, Do It in Two Weeks 241 Chapter 24 Quarterly Rolling Forecasting and Planning 247 The Quarterly Rolling Forecast 247 QRF Quickly Creates the Annual Plan Goalposts 250 QRP Creates a Quarter-by-Quarter Funding Mechanism 250 QRF Is Based on a Planning Application—Not on Excel 251 QRF Should Be Based on the Key Drivers 251 QRF Has a Fast, Light Touch (Completed in One Week) 254 Chapter 25 CEO Feedback 255 Managing One’s Ego 255 Measuring Your Performance as a CEO 255 Chapter 26 Implement Reporting That Works 259 Daily/Weekly Reporting 259 Month-End Reporting 260 Snapshot of All Projects Currently Started 268 Reporting the Strategic Objectives/Risks/Costs Pressures 271 The One-Page Investment Proposal 271 Chapter 27 Seeking Staff Opinion on a Regular Basis 277 A Staff Survey Run Three or Four Times a Year 277 Designing a Staff Survey 278 Chapter 28 Importance of the Human Resources Team 281 Selecting the Right People for the Business 281 Reducing the Need to Recruit 282 Reducing Recruitment Costs 282 Developing Managers and Staff 282 Enhancing the Organization’s Performance through Changing the Culture 283 Savings through Reducing Sick-Pay Payments 283 Managers Do Not Have the Time and Expertise to Be HR Experts 283 Steps You Can Take Right Now 285 Chapter 29 Performance Bonus Schemes 287 The Billion-Dollar Giveaway 287 The Foundation Stones 287 Chapter 30 Avoiding a Rotten Takeover or Merger 299 How Mergers Go Wrong 299 Alternatives to a TOM 305 Chapter 31 The Perils of Restructuring 307 Why Do We Appear to Have an Addiction to Reorganization? 307 Typical Reasons for a Reorganization 308 Before You Look at a Reorganization 313 Chapter 32 Becoming a Serving Leader: A Viking with a Mother’s Heart 315 Five Foundation Stones of a Serving Leader 316 Areas of Focus for a Serving Leader 325 Crisis Management 326 Abandonment 327 Recruiting Your Team 328 Abundance of Positive Energy 328 Develop and Maintain Relationships 330 Student of Psychology 331 Seeing the Future 332 Focus on Learning and Innovation 333 Finishing What You Start 334 Develop, Engage, and Trust 335 Valuing Results and People 338 Accumulate Experience 339 A Viking with a Mother’s Heart 339 Chapter 33 Part Four Progress Checklist 341 Twelve-Week Change Program 341 Appendix A In-House Customer Satisfaction Survey 347 Appendix B List of Success Factors 353 Appendix C Intranet Content Checklist 357 Appendix D Recognition Letters 365 Appendix E Focus Group Meeting Workshop 367 Appendix F Putting Your Support behind Initiatives 369 Appendix G Staff-Satisfaction Survey 371 Appendix H A 360-Degree Feedback Questionnaire Suitable for a CEO 373 Index 377

About the Author :
DAVID PARMENTER is an international presenter who is known for his thought-provoking and lively sessions that have led to substantial change in many organizations. He is a leading expert in the development of winning KPIs, replacing the annual planning process with quarterly rolling planning, and management practices that will get you to the top. David has delivered workshops to thousands of attendees in many cities around the world. He is also the author of Key Performance Indicators: Developing, Implementing, and Using Winning KPIs, Pareto's 80/20 Rule for Corporate Accountants, and Winning CFOs: Implementing and Applying Better Practices (all from Wiley). David Parmenter can be contacted via parmenter@waymark.co.nz or or +64 4 499 0007. His website, www.davidparmenter.com, contains many white papers, articles, and freeware that will be useful to the reader.