Effective Executive: Preface

Management books usually deal with managing other people. The subject of this book is managing oneself for effectiveness. That one can truly manage other people is by no means adequately proven. But one can always manage oneself. Indeed, executives who do not manage themselves for effectiveness cannot possibly expect to manage their associates and subordinates. Management is largely by example. Executives who do not know how to make themselves effective in their own job and work set the wrong example.

To be reasonably effective it is not enough for the individual to be intelligent, to work hard or to be knowledgeable. Effectiveness is something separate, something different. But to be effective also does not require special gifts, special aptitude, or special training. Effectiveness as an executive demands doing certain—and fairly simple—things. It consists of a small number of practices, the practices that are presented and discussed in this book. But these practices are not "inborn." In forty-five years of work as a consultant with a large number of executives in a wide variety of organizations—large and small; businesses, government agencies, labor unions, hospitals, universities, community services; American, European, Latin American and Japanese—I have not come across a single "natural": an executive who was born effective. All the effective ones have had to learn to be effective. And all of them then had to practice effectiveness until it became habit. But all the ones who worked on making themselves effective executives succeeded in doing so. Effectiveness can be learned—and it also has to be learned.

Effectiveness is what executives are being paid for, whether they work as managers who are responsible for the performance of others as well as their own, or as individual professional contributors responsible for their own performance only.

Without effectiveness there is no "performance," no matter how much intelligence and knowledge goes into the work, no matter how many hours it takes.

Yet it is perhaps not too surprising that we have so far paid little attention to the effective executive. Organizations—whether business enterprises, large government agencies, labor unions, large hospitals or large universities—are, after all, brand new. A century ago almost no one had even much contact with such organizations beyond an occasional trip to the local post office to mail a letter.

And effectiveness as an executive means effectiveness in and through an organization.

Until recently there was little reason for anyone to pay much attention to the effective executive or to worry about the low effectiveness of so many of them.

Now, however, most people—especially those with even a fair amount of schooling—can expect to spend all their working lives in an organization of some kind.

Society has become a society of organizations in all developed countries.

Now the effectiveness of the individual depends increasingly on his or her ability to be effective in an organization, to be effective as an executive. And the effectiveness of a modern society and its ability to perform—perhaps even its ability to survive—depend increasingly on the effectiveness of the people who work as executives in the organizations.

The effective executive is fast becoming a key resource for society, and effectiveness as an executive a prime requirement for individual accomplishment and achievement—for young people at the beginning of their working lives fully as much as for people in mid-career.

Introduction: What Makes An Effective Executive?

An effective executive does not need to be a leader in the sense that the term is now most commonly used. Harry Truman did not have one ounce of charisma, for example, yet he was among the most effective chief executives in U.S. history. Similarly, some of the best business and nonprofit CEOs I've worked with over a 65—year consulting career were not stereotypical leaders. They were all over the map in terms of their personalities, attitudes, values, strengths, and weaknesses. They ranged from extroverted to nearly reclusive, from easy-going to controlling, from generous to parsimonious.

What made them all effective is that they followed the same eight practices:

• They asked, "What needs to be done?"

• They asked, "What is right for the enterprise?"

• They developed action plans.

• They took responsibility for decisions.

• They took responsibility for communicating.

• They were focused on opportunities rather than problems.

• They ran productive meetings.

• They thought and said "we" rather than "I."

The first two practices gave them the knowledge they needed.

The next four helped them convert this knowledge into effective action.

The last two ensured that the whole organization felt responsible and accountable.

We've just reviewed eight practices of effective executives. I'm going to throw in one final, bonus practice. This one's so important that I'll elevate it to the level of a rule: Listen first, speak last.

Effective Executive Contents

• Five practices—for getting the right things done

  • Managing the small amount of time that can be brought under their control.

  • Focus on outward contribution “What results are expected of me”?

  • Building on strength

    • Own strength

    • Strengths of superiors, colleagues, and subordinates

    • Strengths in the situation

  • Concentration on the few major areas where superior performance will produce outstanding results

    • Set priorities and stay with priority decisions.

    • Rules for identifying priorities

      • Pick the future against the past

      • Focus on opportunity rather than a problem

      • Choose own direction rather than climbing on the bandwagon

      • Aim high

        • Something that will make a difference

        • Rather than something “safe” & easy to do.

        • Ellaboration

          • Achievement goes to the people who pick their research priorities by the opportunity and who consider other criteria only as qualifiers rather than as determinants

            Similarly, in business the successful companies are not those that work at developing new products for their existing line but those that aim at innovating new technologies or new businesses. As a rule it is just as risky, just as arduous, and just as uncertain to do something small that is new as it is to do something big that is new. It is more productive to convert an opportunity into results than to solve a problem—which only restores the equilibrium of yesterday

  • Make effective decisions

    • A matter of system

    • Right steps in the right sequence

    • A few fundamental decisions

    • The right strategy

See What Executives Should Remember

See Effective Executive preview for a book outline. Please consider calendarizing these books and the other concepts on this page. For a broader work frame see Living in more than one world.