Tag: Management

The Essential Drucker

The Essential Drucker

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The name Peter Drucker is synonymous with management, having written numerous books on management, politics, society, and economics over his storied career. I picked up a copy of The Essential Drucker which is a compilation of 60 years’ worth of his writing. It’s neatly divided into three sections: Management, The Individual, and Society.

The Essential Drucker

In the Management portion of the book he speaks to the role of entrepreneurship and innovation for the enterprise. One of the best nuggets I’ve seen play out time and time again in my own work is “In the existing business, it is the existing that is the main obstacle to entrepreneurship.” In a technology-based organization we are always striving to discover the latest and greatest, but are always constrained by the existing successful model.

 

In the Individual section he speaks to how an individual can become an effective executive. One of the most important things I’ve learned from this portion is to ask those who report to me  ‘What are the contributions for which this organization and I, your superior, should hold you accountable? What should we expect of you? What is the best utilization of your knowledge and your ability?’ Then they write out a management letter to let me know where they see themselves contributing the most. Drucker points out that often, where the manager sees the worker contributing and where the worker sees themselves contributing are often quite different. The point of the exercise is to open up better lines of communication between managers and their workers.

In his writing on Society, he traces the transition from the farmer to the industrial worker to the knowledge worker and how each have disrupted the social fabric for a time. The rise of the knowledge worker has led to an increase in education, placing it at the center of society, a redefining of what it means to be “educated,” and an increase in competitiveness. This book is a fascinating read and I would highly encourage reading it if you don’t have the time to pick up Drucker’s numerous volumes.

 

Getting it Done

Getting it Done

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I’ve been very fortunate over my career to lead teams that produce results. Often you’ll find me spending time thinking about how to better lead them to continue achieving, and hopefully surpassing our agreed upon goals. Much of the success is based on focusing on people and process. On people – hire competent people, provide an environment for them to succeed and get out of their way.

 

In this post, I want to focus more on the process. I work at an organization that runs Internet advertisements on a global scale 24/7. Nearly 500,000 people land on our web pages in 26 languages on a daily basis. We are data driven which means that we have to take time to see what the data is telling us, think about what changes we can make to increase performance, and then implement them.

 

Let’s talk then about how to give ourselves the space to do this in the midst of all the other “work” that has to be done. It’s starts with how you plan out your week. I divide my week into two parts: “operations” and “strategy.” Operations is managing today, today, while strategy is planning for tomorrow, today. Think of it like this: you’ve got to spend time working “in” the business and time working “on” the business.

 

With data coming in over the weekend, I like to spend Monday and Tuesday focused internally. This means that my meetings are focused vertically inside the organization. On Mondays, I review what is happening with those who report directly to me. On Tuesdays, I meet laterally with those on the leadership team and with my leader.

 

I try to hold off on external meetings and conversations for the first two days of the week and push them to Wednesday and Thursday. I love Wednesday’s and Thursday’s because those are the days we dream. I’ll often meet with different people throughout the organization asking “what if” questions. You’ll see me writing on the writeable walls and brainstorming about new opportunities.

 

On Friday’s, I like to focus a little more on myself, the manager. I like to spend Friday mornings focused on reviewing our strategic projects, and my calendar for the next week. I’ll look at the meetings coming up and make sure that I’ve got my ducks in a row before they arrive so that they are as fruitful as possible. Then, we have Friday afternoons. This is when I spend some thinking time by myself. I’ll read some articles on leadership, strategy, technology, innovation, etc and see if there are a few opportunities for me to implement what I’m reading. It’s also a way not to sprint into the weekend, but to ease into it.

 

What about you? How do you get it done?

 

Calendar Example

What is StratOp?

What is StratOp?

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Businesses and organizations are in one of four cycles: Accelerating, Booming, Decelerating, or Tanking. Regardless of where they are, they search for ways to continue growing, get out of ruts, or prevent having to close the doors. They do not lack vision, but often lack a management process that allows them to see where they should be spending their time and resources. The Paterson StratOp Process provides exactly that. It is a six-step process consisting of perspective, planning, action, structure, management, and renewal.

StratOp walks leadership teams through a three-day process where we focus on perspective, planning, and action. Upon the conclusion of the three-day session, we break into teams that develop detailed action plans. Approximately one month later, the teams present their plans to the leader and StratOp facilitator where we work to ensure they are logical and feasible. Afterword, the facilitator and leader discuss the structure of the team to ensure that all of the members are poised to succeed in their roles.

Once structure is confirmed and a launch date is set, teams begin working their plans. StratOp reinforces the adage: “Plan your work. Work your plan. Your plan will work.” This is where StratOp truly separates itself from any other strategic planning process- it equips your team with a new strategic operating and management system. This system allows you to set goals, measure outcomes, and adapt to emerging trends.

StratOp is not a process to take lightly and requires dedication to trusting the process. If you’re like me, you’ll often find yourself wanting to do things outside your normal scope of business…which is why StratOp is so important. It keeps you focused on “what’s important now” so you can move the chains down the field.

 

 

Paterson StratOp Process

The Goddard School

OneHope

LifePlan

Global Media Outreach

StratOp

Christian Vision North America

Coral Ridge Presbyterian Church

Atlantic Christian Academy

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