OPINION
standardised hiring process and giving feedback that follows a six-part framework. Quality does not come from slogans or speeches, but by employing data to identify how their customers define this concept. Similarly, we want to think of Steve Jobs as having the equivalent of business x-ray vision, able to see things the rest of us cannot. But what separated him from all those he passed was a discipline of organisational focus, built on infrastructure such as a structured annual planning retreat and systems to keep everyone focused on only three priorities at a time. The leaders I studied crafted scalable processes so that they could build entire organisations that mastered these skills. Bezos recognised there was little value in running his own meetings e ciently; what he needed was a formula for conducting meetings that could scale across an entire company. Walton met his quality standards by designing processes to identify what his customers valued and then insisting on standard operating procedures that scaled quality across hundreds of stores. None of which is the material for a Hollywood movie. Skill-based execution isn’t fancy and seldom makes headlines. But if your goal is to create a highly successful organisation, my research shows that what separates legendary leaders from their competition is not market genius or cultish personal attributes, but an ability to execute.
creativity and insights that transform an organisation seldom happen in the slivers between answering emails and responding to routine requests. They made consistently good decisions and they made them quickly because they were voracious consumers of advice, surrounding themselves with mentors and advisors who brought pattern recognition and objectivity to their own decision-making process. Rather than overload their organisations with competing priorities, leaving their teams zigzagging among shifting initiatives, the top managers I studied never lost sight of the fact that implementation requires hiring people, buying equipment and leasing space – all of which take time. They were fanatical about setting and adhering to priorities. Apple co-founder Jobs was famous for walking among his team asking, “What have you said no to today?” Finally, they didn’t fear a competitor with a better sales force or marketing campaign. What alarmed them was a competitor with a better product or service. To them, quality was not a virtue but a way to drive profits. Quality expands revenue because the only way to keep a customer is to satisfy their requirements. It increases pricing power and lowers cost. Quality creates a flywheel that destroys the competition: simply consider Sears, Myspace, Compaq Computer or Waldenbooks. Standardising the process Those managers who were able to get things done mastered these five skills by combining a set of subskills – no di erent than learning how to play the piano. In the case of building a team, it means using a
David Dodson is a former CEO of ive companies and currently a lecturer at Stanford Graduate School of Business, where he has twice received the MSx Teaching Excellence Award. He is the author of The Manager’s Handbook: Five Simple Steps to Build a Team, Stay Focused, Make Better Decisions and Crush Your Competition , published by Wiley
Ambition DECEMBER 2023/JANUARY 2024 | 49
Made with FlippingBook - Share PDF online