The Rules Of Management (Pioneer Panel's Library)

The Rules Of Management

A Definitive Code for Managerial Success, Expanded Edition

Richard Templar

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© 2011 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Publishing as FT Press
Upper Saddle River, New Jersey 07458

Authorized adaptation from the original UK edition, entitled
The Rules of Management
, Second Edition, by Richard Templar, published by Pearson Education Limited, © Pearson Education 2011.

This U.S. adaptation is published by Pearson Education Inc, © 2011 by arrangement with Pearson Education Ltd, United Kingdom.

FT Press offers excellent discounts on this book when ordered in quantity for bulk purchases or special sales. For more information, please contact U.S. Corporate and Government Sales, 1-800-382-3419,
[email protected]
. For sales outside the U.S., please contact International Sales at
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.

Company and product names mentioned herein are the trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Rights are restricted to U.S., its dependencies, and the Philippines.

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing May 2011

ISBN-10: 0-13-273310-2
ISBN-13: 978-0-13-273310-6

Pearson Education LTD.
Pearson Education Australia PTY, Limited.
Pearson Education Singapore, Pte. Ltd.
Pearson Education North Asia, Ltd.
Pearson Education Canada, Ltd.
Pearson Educación de Mexico, S.A. de C.V.
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Pearson Education Malaysia, Pte. Ltd.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Templar, Richard, 1950-2006.
The rules of management : a definitive code for managerial success / Richard
Templar. — Expanded ed.
   p. cm.
Rev. ed. of: The rules of management : a definitive code for managerial success. 2005.
ISBN 978-0-13-273310-6 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Management. 2. Executives. 3. Executive ability. I. Title.
HD31.T45 2011b
658—dc22
                                2011011469

Contents

I. Managing Your Team

1. Get Them Emotionally Involved

2. Know What a Team Is and How It Works

3. Set Realistic Targets—No, Really Realistic

4. Hold Effective Meetings...

5. ...No, Really Effective

6. Make Meetings Fun

7. Make Your Team Better Than You

8. Know Your Own Importance

9. Set Your Boundaries

10. Be Ready to Prune

11. Offload as Much as You Can—or Dare

12. Let Them Make Mistakes

13. Accept Their Limitations

14. Encourage People

15. Be Very, Very Good at Finding the Right People

16. Hire Raw Talent

17. Take the Rap

18. Give Credit to the Team When It Deserves It

19. Get the Best Resources for Your Team

20. Celebrate

21. Keep Track of Everything You Do and Say

22. Be Sensitive to Friction

23. Create a Good Atmosphere

24. Inspire Loyalty and Team Spirit

25. Have and Show Trust in Your Staff

26. Respect Individual Differences

27. Listen to Ideas from Others

28. Adapt Your Style to Each Team Member

29. Let Them Think They Know More Than You (Even if They Don’t)

30. Don’t Always Have to Have the Last Word

31. Understand the Roles of Others

32. Ensure People Know Exactly What Is Expected of Them

33. Have Clear Expectations

34. Use Positive Reinforcement Motivation

35. Don’t Try Justifying Stupid Systems

36. Be Ready to Say Yes

37. Train Them to Bring You Solutions, Not Problems

II. Managing Yourself

38. Work Hard

39. Set the Standard

40. Enjoy Yourself

41. Don’t Let It Get to You

42. Know What You Are Supposed to Be Doing

43. Know What You Are Actually Doing

44. Value Your Time

45. Be Proactive, Not Reactive

46. Be Consistent

47. Set Realistic Targets for Yourself—No, Really Realistic

48. Have a Game Plan, but Keep It Secret

49. Get Rid of Superfluous Rules

50. Learn from Your Mistakes

51. Be Ready to Unlearn—What Works, Changes

52. Cut the Crap—Prioritize

53. Cultivate Those in the Know

54. Know When to Kick the Door Shut

55. Fill Your Time Productively and Profitably

56. Have a Plan B and a Plan C

57. Capitalize on Chance—Be Lucky, but Never Admit It

58. Recognize When You’re Stressed

59. Manage Your Health

60. Be Prepared for the Pain and Pleasure

61. Face the Future

62. Head Up, Not Head Down

63. See the Forest and the Trees

64. Know When to Let Go

65. Be Decisive, Even if It Means Being Wrong Sometimes

66. Adopt Minimalism as a Management Style

67. Visualize Your Plaque

68. Have Principles and Stick to Them

69. Follow Your Intuition

70. Be Creative

71. Don’t Stagnate

72. Be Flexible and Ready to Move On

73. Remember the Object of the Exercise

74. Remember That None of Us Has to Be Here

75. Go Home

76. Keep Learning—Especially from the Opposition

77. Be Passionate and Bold

78. Plan for the Worst, but Hope for the Best

79. Let the Company See You Are on Its Side

80. Don’t Bad-Mouth Your Boss

81. Don’t Bad-Mouth Your Team

82. Accept that Some Things Bosses Tell You to Do Will Be Wrong

83. Accept That Bosses Are as Scared as You Are at Times

84. Avoid Straitjacket Thinking

85. Act and Talk as if One of Them

86. If in Doubt, Ask Questions

87. Show You Understand the Viewpoint of Underlings and Overlings

88. Add Value

89. Don’t Back Down—Be Prepared to Stand Your Ground

90. Don’t Play Politics

91. Don’t Criticize Other Managers

92. Share What You Know

93. Don’t Intimidate

94. Be Above Interdepartmental Warfare

95. Show That You’ll Fight to the Death for Your Team

96. Aim for Respect Rather Than Being Liked

97. Do One or Two Things Well and Avoid the Rest

98. Seek Feedback on Your Performance

99. Maintain Good Relationships and Friendships

100. Build Respect—Both Ways—Between You and Your Customers

101. Go the Extra Mile for Your Customers

102. Be Aware of Your Responsibilities

103. Be Straight at All Times and Speak the Truth

104. Don’t Cut Corners—You’ll Get Discovered

105. Find the Right Sounding Board

106. Be in Command and Take Charge

107. Be a Diplomat for the Company

End Game

Introduction

Strange thing, management. It’s something few of us set out in life to do, yet most of us find ourselves doing at some point.

Careers adviser:       What would you like to do when you leave school?

16-year-old:             I want to be a manager.

Did this happen to you? No, me neither. But here you are anyway.

As a manager you are expected to be a lot of things. A tower of strength, a leader and innovator, a magician (conjuring up pay raises, resources and extra staff at the drop of a hat), a kindly uncle/aunt, a shoulder to cry on, a dynamic motivator, a stern but fair judge, a diplomat, a politician, a financial wizard (no, this is quite different from being a magician), a protector, a savior and a saint.

You are responsible for a whole gang of people that you probably didn’t pick, may not like, and might have nothing in common with and who perhaps won’t like you much. You have to coax out of them a decent day’s work. You are also responsible for their physical, emotional, and mental safety and care. You have to make sure they don’t hurt themselves—or each other. You have to ensure they can carry out their jobs according to whatever rules your industry warrants. You have to know your rights, their rights, the company’s rights, and the government’s rights.

And on top of all this, you’re expected to do your job as well.

Oh yes, and you have to remain cool and calm—you can’t shout, throw things, or have favorites. This management business is a tall order....

You are responsible for looking after and getting the best out of a team. This team may behave at times like small children—and you can’t smack them
*
(or possibly even fire them). At other times they will behave like petulant teenagers—sleeping in late, not showing up, refusing to do any real work if they do show up, quitting early—that sort of thing.

*
Yes, yes, I know you can’t smack children either. I was just making a point. Please don’t email me.

Like you, I’ve managed teams (in my case, up to 100 people at a time). People whose names I was expected to know and all their little foibles—ah, Heather can’t work late on a Tuesday because her daughter has to be picked up from her play group. Trevor is color blind, so we can’t use him at the trade show.

YOU ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR A WHOLE GANG OF PEOPLE THAT YOU PROBABLY DIDN’T PICK, MAY NOT LIKE, MIGHT HAVE NOTHING IN COMMON WITH AND WHO PERHAPS WON’T LIKE YOU MUCH.

Mandy sulks if left to answer the phones at lunchtime and loses customers. Chris is great in a team but can’t motivate herself to do anything solo. Ray drinks and shouldn’t be allowed to drive anywhere.

As a manager, you are also expected to be a buffer zone between higher management and your staff. Nonsense may come down from on high but you have to a) sell it to your team, b) not groan loudly or laugh, and c) get your team to work with it even if it is nonsense.

You also have to justify the “no pay raises this year” mentality even if it has just completely demotivated your team. You will have to keep secret any knowledge you have of takeovers, mergers, acquisitions, secret deals, senior management buyouts and the like, despite the fact that rumors are flying and you are being constantly asked questions by your team.

You are responsible not only for people but also for budgets, discipline, communications, efficiency, legal matters, union matters, health and safety matters, personnel matters, pensions, sick pay, maternity leave, paternity leave, holidays, time off, time sheets, tight deadlines and leaving presents, industry
standards, fire drills, first aid, fresh air, heating, plumbing, parking spaces, lighting, stationery, resources, and tea and coffee. And that’s not to mention the small matter of customers.

AS A MANAGER, YOU ARE ALSO EXPECTED TO BE A BUFFER ZONE BETWEEN HIGHER MANAGEMENT AND YOUR STAFF.

And you will have to fight with other departments, other teams, clients, senior bosses, senior management, the board, shareholders and the accounts department. (Unless of course you are the manager of the accounts department.)

You are also expected to set standards. This means you are going to have to be an on-time, up-front, smartly dressed, hardworking, industrious, late-staying, early-rising, detached, responsible, caring, knowledgeable, above-reproach juggler. Tall order.

You also need to accept that as a manager you may be ridiculed—think
The Office
—and possibly even judged by your staff, shareholders and the public to be ineffective and even superfluous to the carrying out of the actual job in hand.
*

*
If this all makes you feel a bit bleak about being a manager—don’t be. Managers are the stuff that runs the world. We get to lead, to inspire, to motivate, to guide, to shape the future. We get to make a difference to the business and to people’s lives. We get to make a real and positive contribution to the state of the world. We get not only to be part of the solution but also to provide the solution. We are the sheriff and the marshal and the ranger all rolled into one. We are the engine and the captain. It’s a great role and we should relish it—it’s just not always an easy role....

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