Page 164 - Executive Warfare

EXECUTIVE W ARF ARE

“I don’t know your business,”I said.“I’m just telling you that you have no
justification here for taking on more risk than our competitors, except for
the fact that you’re getting paid more for
it. Don’t tell me we can analyze chicken
SOMETIMES, YOU farms better than the competition.”
HAVE TO MAKE My two or three questions really
LESS-THAN- unsettled these people—and made it
PERFECT clear that even if I didn’t understand the
DECISIONS TO finer points of their business, I was
KEEP ALL THE watching their work.
DIVERSE AND Managing areas that you know rela-
COMPETITIVE tively little about is one of the greatest
MEMBERS OF YOUR challenges you’ll face as you rise. When
TEAM TOGETHER. in doubt, simplify the issues, stay out of
the details, and make sure your experts
know that you will hold them accountable for the outcome.

MAKE SOME DECISIONS FOR THE TEAM
Of course, the challenge of managing many diverse departments and divi-
sions is not just about ensuring good results from each of them. You also
have to balance these departments against each other and give each disci-
pline enough respect. You can easily make an enemy among your own
troops just by consistently brushing off one group.
Remember, when you get to the higher levels of organizational life, most
of the people around you are used to getting their own way. They’re
offended if their judgment is not considered. It may not be fun, spending
hours listening to a lawyer’s opinion on a product development question
and trying to find the nugget of wisdom in there. It may seem like a waste
of time. But it isn’t.
You need that lawyer to help you make informed decisions, even if you
don’t always agree with her.

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