I recently read High Output Management by Andrew Grove. Grove was a former CEO at Intel and gives a ton of helpful advice about getting the most out of yourself and those you manage.
Here are some of the things I learned:
- Weekly 1-on-1 meetings with those you manage are a must. They help you understand the work and how to get the most from your team.
- Ask subordinates to make an outline prior to 1-on-1 meetings.
- Keep an inventory of key performance indicators to measure success.
- Identify high-leverage activities and focus on those.
- Reject products at their lowest cost point of production.
- Delegate – but follow through.
- A supervisor has a contractual obligation to get the best from his subordinates.
- A manager must create an environment where motivated people can flourish.
- There is no single best management style for every situation.
- When disagreements come up, say something like: “I understand that you think it’s not worth your time to do this, but as your supervisor I’m telling you to do it.”
- OR something like this: “You may be right, or I may be right. But, I’m not only empowered, I am required by the organization that we work for to instruct you to do it.” Then proceed to monitor your subordinate’s output.
Aaron Olson 