• set strategy • set culture • delegate • incentivize “Build a system and make yourself a human router.” Stress comes from failure to build the right system. -Andrew Wilkinson Continue reading CEOs Should Do Nothing Stop performing company duties. Real CEO jobs…
Many of the practices and structures within the company need to adapt, too, including, in this case, how the board rewards our executives. -The Ride of a Lifetime, p.196 Continue reading When you innovate, everything needs to change, not just the way you make or deliver a product.
In general, you have to try to recognize that when the stakes of a project are very high, there’s not much to be gained from putting additional pressure on the people working on it. It’s subtle, but there’s a difference between communicating that you share their stress- that you’re in it with them OR communicating that you need them to deliver in order to alleviate your stress. The Ride of a Lifetime, p.184 Continue reading Be soft on people working on hard, challenging projects.
-You have to do it in person, not over the phone and certainly not by email or text. -You have to look the person in the eye. -You can’t use anyone else as an excuse. (This is you making a decision about them – not them as a person but the way they have performed in their job – and they need and deserve to know that it’s coming from you.) -You can’t make small talk once you bring someone in for that conversation Iger says something along the lines of: “I’ve asked you to come in here for a … Continue reading There’s no good playbook for how to fire someone, though Iger has an internal set of rules:
It’s about helping others be prepared to possibly step into your shoes – giving them access to your own decision making, identifying the skills they need to develop and helping them improve, and, as I’ve had to do, sometimes being honest with them about why they’re not ready for the next step up. -The Ride of a Lifetime, p.67 Continue reading Good leadership isn’t about being indispensable.
As a leader, you should want those around you to be eager to rise up and take on more responsibility, as long as dreaming about the job they want doesn’t distract them from the job they have. You can’t let ambition get too far ahead of opportunity. I’ve seen a lot of people who had their sights set on a particular job or project, bu the opportunity to get there was so slim. They grew impatient with where they were and so their ambition became counterproductive. The employee should make himself one of the people, through attitude, energy and focus, … Continue reading What’s the best way to nurture ambition?
Ovitz was horrible at it. He would keep people waiting while he was getting calls from all kinds of celebrities. People grew frustated of these rescheduled, postponed meetings. Ovitz didn’t make them feel that their time was valuable. -The Ride of a Lifetime, p.63 Continue reading Managing your own time and respecting others’ time is one of the most vital things to do as a manager.
When the two people at the top of a company have a dysfunctional relationship, there’s no way that the rest of the company beneath them can be functional. This is what happened between Michael Eisner and Michael Ovitz around 1995. Ultimately, Eisner fired Ovitz but the damage it caused to the company was significant. -The Ride of a Lifetime, p.62 Continue reading If sh*t happens in top management, solving it should be your priority
It’s a small gesture, but it feels awful to be the overlooked sidekick. Plus, anything that reminds you that you’re not the center of the universe is a good thing. -The Ride of a Lifetime, p.48 Continue reading Make sure to connect and speak with every person at the table.
Roadmap to Billions 