Management: One Thing More Than Any Other

"Quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened, but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm."

Robert Louis Stevenson

Were I to pick one trait I value most in a manager it is the ability to stay calm during times of upheaval.

Few great leaders lose control for long if at all. They are as Stevenson said, "like a clock during a thunderstorm", able to function while others around them cannot.

What about you? What is the one managerial trait at the top of your list?

Problem Solving: Can We or Can't We?

"The greatest and most important problems in life are all in a certain sense insoluble. They can never be solved, but only outgrown."

Carl Jung
Psychiatrist

In other words forget the really big stuff; you can't do anything about it and/or maybe you can but only a little.

Do you think this includes significant cash flow, personnel and/or declining sales problems? Certainly in the extreme these are big, important issues to any company experiencing them but would they have made Jung's list?

I've been through all of these finding some to be "solvable" but rarely as I had hoped. Also a few went away before I could or did try to fix them.

Did I "outgrow" them? I don't believe so.

I think Jung's "certain sense" reference applied to business is a suggestion that we need to look for alternatives other than the one we originally expected and hoped to find.

What do you think?

Happy Thanksgiving!

Praise: The Role in Management

"We increase whatever we praise. The whole creation responds to praise, and is glad."

Charles Fillmore
19th Century Religious Philosopher

"The trouble with most of us is that we would rather be ruined by praise than saved by criticism."

Norman Vincent Peale
20th Century Preacher/Author

Another case of seemingly dueling quotes; this time regarding the role of praise, both coming from religious people.

I've struggled with this in my career sometimes criticized by those who worked for me as not giving enough praise. In each case I thought a lot about the situation sometimes agreeing that I could have done more but more often than not feeling as Mr. Peale apparently did. Circumstances simply did not justify what would have at best been a false compliment.

How do you handle this?

Alliance Management: Strength in Numbers

"In this new wave of technology, you can't do it all yourself, you have to form alliances."

Carlos Slim Helu
Mexican Businessman

When it comes to alliances there appears to be a limit beyond which business is loath to go.

We understand we literally cannot do "it" by ourselves and form companies; which are alliances among individuals. And in some cases we do align with other companies when we see common benefit being the result, but not as often as could be true.

Every so often circumstances dictate the need for alliances. The "circumstances" today for many banks, auto manufacturers and retailers suggest they align or go out of business. But this is back up against the wall, gun against the temple sort of alignment. Defensive rather than offensive alignment.

Do you look for opportunity to align with others in the normal course of business ?

Public Relations: To What End?

"Regardless of how you feel inside, always try to look like a winner. Even if you are behind, a sustained look of control and confidence can give you a mental edge that results in victory."

Arthur Ashe

"In designated cleanup areas of certain offices, the company has changed the type of wipe-up towels it buys. In a memo to employees, a staffer explained this will lower GM's "cost per wipe."

Wall Street Journal, November 24, 2008
Article discussing the cost saving measures being employed by GM (Click here for article)

Arthur's quote suggests the importance of appearing as though you are winning even when you're not. Is that "spin" and if it is, is that a bad thing? And if you read the WSJ article I think you'll agree they've "spun" the efforts of GM to control costs (you decide whether they did so positively or negatively.)

What is the role of PR? To get the facts out or is it to create the facts? Is there a difference?