The Leading-Edge Manager's Guide to Success, with Website

This book takes a holistic view as to what skills and knowledge are required to be a leader who makes a difference. It recognizes that in order to summit the management mountain, we need to understand the personal traits that can limit our potential. After guiding the reader through the pathway of self-development, the book takes managers through management better practices providing many implementation tools. It is based on those practices you need to master as you climb the management mountain, culminating in what makes a CEO special. The Leading-Edge Manager's Guide to Success includes the observations and wisdom from David Parmenter, who, through his workshops, articles, and books, has emerged as a thought leader on better management practices and performance measurement. Written in an easy-to-absorb style and entertaining manner, this is a pragmatic guide for managers and leaders no matter where they are in climbing the management mountain. This book also has sections that are addressed to CEOs and senior managers. In other words, this book contains material to interest all, including:

• Practical, commonsense guidance with the A-to-Z on how to be an effective leader
• Hundreds of better practices that will make a difference
• A detailed section on personal development, giving directional guidance on what you need to know about yourself in order to be able to manage and lead others
• Issues as diverse as treasure mapping, personal baggage, self-recognition, and selling by emotional drivers in a management context
• The latest thinking on KPIs, quarterly rolling planning, decision-based reporting, and performance-related pay
• A unique serving leadership model based on the great conquest leaders Sir Ernest Shackleton, Sir Edmund Hillary, and Sir Winston Churchill
• A companion website featuring an abundance of pragmatic and helpful tools and webcasts

Preface xv
How to Use This Book xv
Why Feature Leadership Stories throughout This Book? xvii
Electronic Media Available xvii
Acknowledgments xix
Part I Selecting the Mountain and Your Guides
Chapter 1 Creating a Vision of What You Want to Achieve 3
Neuro-Linguistic Programming 3
Influencing the Environment 4
Chapter 2 Find Out about Yourself 7
Personal Baggage 7
Courses to Attend 8
Locking in a New Behavior Trait 10
Inner Disarmament 13
Chapter 3 Locating a Mentor 15
Why You Need a Mentor 15
How to Find a Mentor 17
How to Ask Someone to Be Your Mentor 17
Types of Mentors 18
Some Mentoring Better Practices 18
Chapter 4 Finding the Right Organization for You 21
Working under a Great CEO 21
Working for a Great Manager 22
A Great Leader 22
Part II Getting Prepared For Management
Chapter 5 Creating Winning Personal Habits 33
Treasure Mapping 33
Self-Recognition 35
Recognition of Others 36
Making Decisions 37
Do Not Run Out of Fuel 39
Continuous Innovation 41
Learn How to "Post-It" Reengineer 42
Mind Mapping 43
Business Etiquette 45
Managing Relationships 45
Cell Phone Etiquette 45
Greeting the Guest 46
Remember You/Remember Me 47
Disengaging Swiftly and Politely 47
Full Attention at Meetings 48
Returning Phone Calls 48
Golden Rules with Email 49
Chapter 6 Developing Winning Work Habits 53
Attend a One Week Management Course 53
How to Help Your Boss Be Successful 54
How to Handle a "Bully of a Boss" 57
Time Management: The Basics 58
The 4:00 P. M. Friday Weekly Planner 63
Power Dressing 63
Preparing for Your Performance Review 64
Preparing a Monthly Progress Report 64
Quality Assurance Checks 64
Contributing to Your Organization's Intranet 67
Making the Most out of Your Computer Applications 67
In Pursuit of Slow 68
Better-Practice Graphics 68
Delivering Bulletproof PowerPoint Presentations 70
Searching the Web Efficiently 77
Interview Techniques 78
Chapter 7 Part Two Progress Checklist 81
Thirteen-Week Change Program 81
Lessons from Sir Edmund Hillary's Expeditions 81
Part III Being a Better Manager
Chapter 8 Improving Team Performance: The Basics 91
Attending Further Management Courses 91
Staff Debriefing at the End of the Day 92
Attracting the Best Staff to the Team 92
Getting the Right Staff 93
Getting the Induction Process Right 93
Set Up Monthly One-on-One Progress Meetings with Direct Reports 94
Performance Reviews that Work 95
Hold Offsite Meetings for the Team at Least Twice a Year 97
Make Work Fun 98
In-House Satisfaction Survey 100
Getting a Bigger "Bang" for Your Training Dollar 102
Managing Staff on Sick Leave 103
Stress Management 104
Apply Pareto's 80/20 Principle in Your Work 104
Maintain a Focus on Materiality 105
Chapter 9 Improving Team Performance: The Cutting Edge 107
Implementing "Action Meetings" Methods 107
Hourly Meeting Cost 111
Check the Need for the Meeting 111
Ban Morning Meetings 112
Learn How to Negotiate 112
The Hidden Cost of Downsizing 113
Dismissing a Poor-Performing Employee 114
The Overnight Challenge 116
Use the One-Minute-Manager Techniques 116
Introduce a Team Balanced Scorecard 116
Lessons from a World-Class Coach 118
Chapter 10 Effective Recruiting 123
Understand That Time Spent Recruiting Is the Most Valuable Time 123
Cathay Pacific Recruitment 124
Peter Drucker's Five-Step Process 124
14 Great Questions to Help Get Select 'A' Players 125
Using the Organization's Values in Recruiting 125
Involve the Human Resources Team 125
Use Simulation Exercises and Psychometric Testing 126
Assessment Centers 126
Involve Your Team in the Final Selection Process 127
Ask Your Top Employees for Referrals 127
Reference Checks: The Do's and Don'ts 128
Selecting an Executive Assistant to Be Your Copilot 129
Chapter 11 Becoming More Financially Aware 131
Understand Your Financial Responsibilities as a Budget Holder 131
Understanding Internal Controls 132
Understand Your Organization's Financial Statements 132
Balance Sheet or the Statement of Financial Position 133
Statement of Profit and Loss 135
Source and Disposition of Funds 136
Chapter 12 Developing Your Selling Skills 139
Selling a New Process through "Emotional Drivers" 139
Always Pre-Sell Your Proposals 140
Selling Your Team to Your Peers 141
Chapter 13 Working Smart with the Outside World 143
Supplier Relationships 143
Seeking Publicity 145
Using Outside Consultants Effectively 145
Chapter 14 Part Three Progress Checklist 155
A Bulldog Who Never Gave Up: Churchill's Leadership Lessons 155
Part IV Being A Leader Who Makes A Difference
Chapter 15 Learning Must Never Stop 165
A Constant Thirst for Knowledge 165
The Thinking of Jeremy Hope 166
The Thinking of Harry Mills 166
Chapter 16 Key Performance Indicators Can Transform Your Organization 169
The Great KPI Misunderstanding 169
The 10/80/10 Rule 170
Characteristics of a KPI 173
Importance of Identifying the Critical Success Factors 175
The Balanced Scorecard 176
Winning KPIs Link Day-to-Day Activities to Strategy 177
Implementing Winning KPIs 178
Use the Emotional Drivers When Selling Winning KPIs 178
If Your KPIs Are Not Working, Throw Them Out and Start Again 179
Importance of Daily CEO Follow-Up 180
Chapter 17 Reporting Performance Measures in a Balanced Way 181
Reporting Measures Daily, Weekly, Monthly 181
How KPIs and Financial Reporting Fit Together 186
Chapter 18 Making a Difference in the Senior Management Team 187
Your Involvement with the Organization's Intranet 187
Your Ability to Lead 189
Your Competency with Technology 191
Your Ability to Work in the "Not Urgent and Important" Quadrant 191
Your Ability to Finish 192
Your Commitment to Human Resources Management Techniques 193
Chapter 19 Finding Your Organization's Critical Success Factors 195
Few Organizations Know Their Critical Success Factors 195
Definition of Critical Success Factors 196
Identifying Organization-wide Critical Success Factors 196
Identifying Organization-wide CSFs: A Three-Stage Process 198
Chapter 20 Special Organizations 203
Cathay Pacific Recruiting Frontline Staff Born with the Ability to Serve 203
Building an Organization That Works in the Fourth Dimension: SMASH 205
Toyota's 15-Year Advantage 210
Management Practices by the Pier Nine Restaurant 214
Chapter 21 Making Your Day More Successful 219
Managing Your Scarcest Resource: Your Time 219
Revolutionizing the Working Day 221
Planning a Sabbatical 223
Bring Back the Morning Tea Break 223
SMT Lunches and the Monthly Team Breakfast 224
Focusing on One's Goals During the Day 225
Chapter 22 Reporting to the Board 227
Selling the Change to the Board 227
Costing Board Papers 228
Scoping Information Requests 228
Avoiding Rewrites of Board Reports 230
Tabling Board Papers Electronically 230
Do Not Give the Board "Management Information" 231
Training Session for All Writers of Board Papers 231
Set Timely Board Meetings Less Frequently 232
Using a Dashboard to Report Key Result Indicators to the Board 234
Chapter 23 Annual Planning Is Not Working 239
Throw Out Your Annual Planning and Associated Monthly Budget Cycle 239
If You Must Keep an Annual Plan, Do It in Two Weeks 241
Chapter 24 Quarterly Rolling Forecasting and Planning 247
The Quarterly Rolling Forecast 247
QRF Quickly Creates the Annual Plan Goalposts 250
QRP Creates a Quarter-by-Quarter Funding Mechanism 250
QRF Is Based on a Planning Application-Not on Excel 251
QRF Should Be Based on the Key Drivers 251
QRF Has a Fast, Light Touch (Completed in One Week) 254
Chapter 25 CEO Feedback 255
Managing One's Ego 255
Measuring Your Performance as a CEO 255
Chapter 26 Implement Reporting That Works 259
Daily/Weekly Reporting 259
Month-End Reporting 260
Snapshot of All Projects Currently Started 268
Reporting the Strategic Objectives/Risks/Costs Pressures 271
The One-Page Investment Proposal 271
Chapter 27 Seeking Staff Opinion on a Regular Basis 277
A Staff Survey Run Three or Four Times a Year 277
Designing a Staff Survey 278
Chapter 28 Importance of the Human Resources Team 281
Selecting the Right People for the Business 281
Reducing the Need to Recruit 282
Reducing Recruitment Costs 282
Developing Managers and Staff 282
Enhancing the Organization's Performance through Changing the Culture 283
Savings through Reducing Sick-Pay Payments 283
Managers Do Not Have the Time and Expertise to Be HR Experts 283
Steps You Can Take Right Now 285
Chapter 29 Performance Bonus Schemes 287
The Billion-Dollar Giveaway 287
The Foundation Stones 287
Chapter 30 Avoiding a Rotten Takeover or Merger 299
How Mergers Go Wrong 299
Alternatives to a TOM 305
Chapter 31 The Perils of Restructuring 307
Why Do We Appear to Have an Addiction to Reorganization? 307
Typical Reasons for a Reorganization 308
Before You Look at a Reorganization 313
Chapter 32 Becoming a Serving Leader: A Viking with a Mother's Heart 315
Five Foundation Stones of a Serving Leader 316
Areas of Focus for a Serving Leader 325
Crisis Management 326
Abandonment 327
Recruiting Your Team 328
Abundance of Positive Energy 328
Develop and Maintain Relationships 330
Student of Psychology 331
Seeing the Future 332
Focus on Learning and Innovation 333
Finishing What You Start 334
Develop, Engage, and Trust 335
Valuing Results and People 338
Accumulate Experience 339
A Viking with a Mother's Heart 339
Chapter 33 Part Four Progress Checklist 341
Twelve-Week Change Program 341
Appendix A In-House Customer Satisfaction Survey 347
Appendix B List of Success Factors 353
Appendix C Intranet Content Checklist 357
Appendix D Recognition Letters 365
Appendix E Focus Group Meeting Workshop 367
Appendix F Putting Your Support behind Initiatives 369
Appendix G Staff-Satisfaction Survey 371
Appendix H A 360-Degree Feedback Questionnaire Suitable for a CEO 373
Index 377