Somehow, I Managed (Part One): 100+ Things I Learned in Business

Michael Scott was the world’s best manager, and he has the coffee mug to prove it (“No. 1 Boss!”). His book, entitled Somehow I Manage, was never released (it’s all there, he said, in my head). I would love to read it, but alas, it will never happen. He has retired and lives with his wife, Holly, in Boulder, with their two kids and a dog named Pamela Beagsley.

My book, should I ever write one (it’s all in my head at the moment), will be entitled, “Somehow I Managed.” That extra “d” gets me off the copyright hook I think. I hope.

But seriously, I had a client the other day ask me for a list of things I’d learned in 25 years of business so that he could short-cut the process. I suppose Rule No. 1 would be, you cannot short-cut the process, but I’ll leave that for him to figure out. This then is Part One of a three-part series of 70-odd things I learned in business.

Let me know what you think!

1. The customer comes first. Find out who your customer is. All positions inside of all organizations have a customer, a stakeholder, a constituent. Your work must in some large measure be aimed at what they are expecting. In all my jobs, I asked on Day One who the customer was and what they expected. You MUST know this.
2. The customer is not always right. I fired many customers, mostly because we could not make money with the deal they wanted us to strike, but also because their values were in some way contrary to our corporate values. Pornographers come to mind, but also foreign governments trying to have their way with us. In those instances, I was successful in asking the customer to take their business elsewhere.
3. Be a professional to your chosen profession. No matter the assignment you are given, undertake it with all that you have. Learn the ropes, understand the levers, and most important of all, have a clear line of sight as to “what success will look like.”
4. Try to put yourself out of work. Yes, with every move you make, with every process you perfect, you must be in some way trying to drive out costs in the organization and to streamline business process.
5. Cash is king. Understand your cash position at all times. This was far more important in the early years when we were building a business by the seat of our pants. Running out of cash would have been the end of us. Bill Gates certainly understood this: He vowed to always have enough cash on hand to run his business for one year without revenue. As a result, mass layoffs were something of a rarity at Microsoft.
6. Know your numbers. Every position will come with performance metrics of some kind. Understand them intimately. Build a dashboard, similar to what you have in your car, so that you know the health of every working part and process in your firm’s engine. Monitor the numbers. You are what you measure. Measure everything.  Take notes, journal, and then feedback what you’ve learned. Metricize. (thanks to Jerry Kleeman for this one!)
7. Avoid role confusion. Insist on clarity when it comes to what is expected of you and, more specifically, what YOU will be held accountable for. If you are to be held accountable for something, then delve into who and what might get in your way and ask that those obstacles be removed or codified somehow.
8. Ask, “If I am successful in this position, what will that look like to you [your boss].”
9. Develop a Mission Statement. Understand the Mission, and develop tactics and strategies that support that Mission. If what you are doing does not somehow relate to the Mission, then stop doing that thing.
10. All successful deals are made going into the deal, not while in the middle of it, nor on the way out. Define contractual terms carefully. Think of every deal as you might a house purchase. The purchase price is agreed to, anything that the Seller must do is set forth in writing, and title is researched and guaranteed. If there are regrets, then so be it. But do everything up front. Strike the best deal you can, up front.
11. Leadership is indeed a function of hiring the right people and then getting out of their way. “Management” is something of a misnomer. If you are managing something, then you are a caretaker. Avoid caretaker situations.
12. Good leadership is servant leadership. Find out what your people need in order to be successful and then go get it for them. Then … stay out of their way. And, no matter your station in life, never ever fail to sweep the floors in your organization. Fly coach. Take the subway, not the limousine.
13. Get to know the floor sweepers. Wander around and get to know the first names of the “people in the basement” who are typically forgotten cogs in the wheel.  Every employee is critical – treat them that way.  And when you fall short, as we all do, apologize quickly and move on.
14. Focus on the low-lights. Many employees will want to stress the highlights of their performance. That’s fine, as far as it goes. Focus on the low-lights. What went wrong? What COULD go wrong? What MIGHT go wrong? Never allow your organization to rest on its laurels.
15. Understand financial leverage. All organizations have debt of some sort, something which they must pay back. Debt is not a four letter word, but it should be incurred only to extent it acts as a force multiplier. The best examples include borrowing money to improve a business process, the profits from which far outweigh the cost of the debt. Never borrow money to buy the weekly groceries, in other words.
16. Keep all costs as variable as possible. Avoid fixed costs. This way, should the business suffer a downturn, your costs will go down as well. This is just as applicable in our personal finances.
17. Keep your resume up to date. Set aside time every month to update it or to make notes to support what it might need to look like should you start to look for another job. Do NOT wait until the last minute.
18. Network. Develop a network of associates who you can help and who can help you. Stay in touch with them. Have a “stay in touch” strategy of some sort. Do not let your network languish or go thirsty.
19. Go Forth and Fail. Never be afraid to try something new. Never be afraid to fail. Don’t be afraid to innovate. Be different.  Avoid mediocrity at all cost.
20. Write thank you notes. We used to call these, “bread and butter” notes. Use the postal service, never email. Thank people who have gone out of their way for you. Do so quickly.
21. Admit to mistakes quickly. Never try to sweep them under the carpet. If you have promised something and know that it cannot be delivered, tell that truth as fast as you can.
22. Culture is what happens when no one is looking. Remember that. And remember that the fish rots from the head. If you have compromised ethics, then the chances are your organization will too. Be ethical – always.  We may talk about things that aren’t, but at the end of the day what we do is a direct reflection of who we are.
23. Under-promise and over-deliver. In all things. Be early, stay late, and deliver more than you promised.
24. But, within the organization, of your employees, et al., ask for 110%, and then sit back and enjoy 95%. Never ask for anything less than 110% but be happy and content with 95%. Privately, that is. Make sure to inquire into why 110% was not delivered.
25. Move the bar with regularity. Do not be satisfied, ever. Publicly, that is. If last month the organization delivered 95%, move the bar to 111%.

Part Two will cover off another 25 thoughts. I hope you enjoyed these! Leave a comment one way or the other. I’d love to hear from you!