AMA Business Boot Camp: Management and Leadership Fundamentals That Will See You Successfully Through Your Career

EDWARD T. REILLY Editor of AMA BUSINESS BOOT CAMP Edward T. Reilly has been the 17th President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Management Association, International since June 2001. AMA (amanet.org) is the world’s leading not-for-profit, membership-based management development, research and publishing organization. Each year, AMA directly interacts with over 100,000 managers and executives in the United States and around the world, through its renowned management education seminar programs and conferences. It publishes many newsletters, research papers and a quarterly management journal. Through its publishing arm, AMACOM, it publishes over 70 books per year. AMA produces hundreds of webcasts and podcasts that reach over a quarter million managers around the world each year. AMA is the parent company of Management Centre Europe (MCE.be), a leading pan-European business management education institution for middle and senior executives. Management Centre Europe has been located in Brussels for 40 years. AMA also maintains operations in Canada, Mexico, Japan and China, with affiliated organizations in Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Korea and Australia. AMA’s organizations are distinguished by the quality of their faculty of global business practitioners, the practical action-oriented focus of their learning programs, and the dynamic, interactive nature of their courses. To further expand AMA’s vast footprint, Ed served as editor of AMA BUSINESS BOOT CAMP: Management and Leadership Fundamentals That Will See You Successfully Through Your Career (AMACOM 2013). “It is my hope that this book will be an introduction to the principles of effective, efficient management and leadership for some of the people we don’t yet touch,” Ed states, “and that the collective skills they begin to develop through the exposure to these ideas will help them and their organizations.” Ed previously served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Big Flower Holdings, Inc., a leading provider of integrated marketing and advertising services. Under his four-year leadership, revenues at Big Flower Holdings increased from approximately $1 billion to nearly $1.9 billion. The NYSE-listed Company broadened its services and made numerous acquisitions, specializing in newspaper insert advertising, individualized direct mail, digital asset management and application software for the broadcasting and advertising agency industries. In December of 1999, the Company was sold to a group of private equity investors. Prior to joining Big Flower Holdings, Ed spent over 25 years with the book publishing and broadcast groups of The McGraw-Hill Companies, holding the following positions: Editor in Chief of the Accounting, Computing and Data Processing Department of Gregg Community College Division; Chief Financial Officer of the California Test Bureau; General Manager of the Instructo Corporation; Group Vice President for Europe, Africa and The Middle East; Group Vice President for McGraw-Hill Training Systems; the Executive Vice President of the McGraw-Hill International Book Company. In 1987, Ed became the President of The McGraw-Hill Broadcasting Company and during that time, also served as Chairman of the Board of the Television Bureau of Advertising (TVB), and Chairman of the Board of the Association for Maximum Service Television (MSTV) when the technology platform for digital broadcasting and high definition television was developed and approved by the FCC. He served as a Board member of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) and is a past Chairman of The Advertising Council, the world leader in public service advertising. Currently, Ed serves on the following Boards: USO Metropolitan New York; Immediate Past Chairman of the USO World Headquarters Board of Governors; Co-Chairman of the USO Operation Enduring Care Campaign; Member of the North American Advisory Board of the UCD Michael Smurfit School of Business in Dublin; Fellow of the International Academy of Management; Member of the United States Advisory Board of IESE Business School, Barcelona, Spain; International Counselor of the Institute of International Education and Fellow and past Chairman of the Royal Society of Arts in the U.S.. Ed holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from St. Francis College, New York, and attended the Stanford Executive Program. He resides in Westport, Connecticut, with his wife, Susan.

Contents



Acknowledgments ix

Preface xi

A Guide to Using This Book xiii



SECTION 1: ESSENTIAL MANAGEMENT SKILLS 1



CHAPTER 1: BASIC MANAGEMENT 3

The Roles of Manager 3

Creating the Right Environment 6

The Nature of Decision Making 7

Characteristics of a Healthy Workplace 7

Effective Communication: Honing the Key Skill 8

The Content of Business Communication 9

Communication Process 10

Questioning Styles 12

Elements of Communication 14

Purposeful Communication—The Skill in Service 17

Using Communication to Manage Up 17

Communicating Organizational Goals 18

Running Effective Meetings 18

CHAPTER 2: PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT 25

The Process of Managing 25

Tools of Managing 31

Fundamentals of Motivation 32

Herzberg’s Model 33

Countering Workplace Dissatisfaction 36

Uncovering Employees’ Motivators 39

Delegation for Growth and Development 40

Two-Way Benefits of Delegating 40

The Process of Delegating 42

When to Delegate—and When Not To 44

Coaching to Boost Performance 45

Occasions for Coaching 46

The Process of Coaching 47

The Mechanics of Coaching 47

CHAPTER 3: MANGING STAFF CHANGES 53

Dealing with Change 53

Reasons for Hiring 55

Right Fit 55

Fluctuating Economy 57

Variable Skill Levels 59

Loyalty and Commitment 59

Outsourcing 60

Personnel Expectations 61

The Hiring Process—Recruiting 64

The Hiring Process—Interviewing 72

General Competency 74

Job-Specific Competency 76

Interview Format 85

Active Listening 87

Selection Guidelines 88

CHAPTER 4: MANAGING PROJECTS 91

The Triple Constraints 92

The Project Team 94

Project Flow 94

Differentiating Operations from Projects 96

Initiating a Project 97

Planning a Project 109

Executing a Project 123

Completing a Project 130

Case Study 1: Moderate Complexity Project 132

Case Study 2: High-Risk Project 133

Section I Action Items 137



SECTION II: SENIOR MANAGEMENT SKILLS 139

CHAPTER 5: STRATEGIC THINKING 141

Why Managers Need to Think Strategically 141

A Strategic Frame of Reference 143

Elements of the Strategic Frame of Reference 145

Understanding the Operational Mission 149

The Anatomy of a Strategic Vision 153

Understanding Customer Sensitivities 153

Creating a Strategic Advantage 155

Making the Vision a Reality 159

CHAPTER 6: LEADERSHIP 163

Leadership Self-Assessment 164

Behavior of a Leader 167

Measures of Success 174

Leveraging Your Leadership Style 176

Leadership Image 181

Building Power and Influence 184

Assessment #1: Your Power Potential 185

Assessment #2: Your Power Profile 187

Assessment #3: Group Leadership Qualities 188

Influence 190

Enlightened Office Politics 192

Motivating Difficult People 202

The Staller 202

The Emotional Hothead 202

The Complainer 202

The Backstabber 203

Ms. or Mr. Perfect 203

Section II Action Items 208



Appendix A: Self-Assessment on Comfort Level with Delegation 211

Appendix B: Coaching Planning Worksheet 213

Appendix C: Project Management Planning Template 215

Glossary 219

Index 223