High Output Management

When a person is not doing his job, there can only be two reasons for it. The person either can't do it or won't do it; he is either not capable or not motivated. To determine which, we can employ a simple mental test: if the person's life depended on doing the work, could he do it?

Finally, remember that by saying “yes"-to projects, a course of action, or whatever-you are implicitly sayıng "no" to something else. Each time you make a commitment, you forfeit your chance to commit to something else.

What should be covered in a one-on-one? We can start with performance figures, indicators used by the subordinate, such as incoming order rates, production output, or project status. Emphasis should be on indicators that signal trouble. The meeting should also cover anything important that has happened since the last meeting: current hiring problem... See more

Managerial productivity-that is, the output of a manager per unit of time worked-can be increased in three to ways: 1. Increasing the rate with which a manager performs his activities, speeding up his work. 2. Increasing the leverage associated with the various managerial activities. 3. Shifting the mix of a manager's activities from those with low... See more

How you handle your own time is, in my view, the single most important aspect of being a role model and leader.

...a genuinely effective indicator will cover the output of the work unit and not simply the activity involved. Obviously, you measure a salesman by the orders he gets (output), not by the calls he makes (activity).

As the manager, you could add another toaster, but this becomes an expensive addition of capital equipment. You could run the toaster continuously and build up an inventory of hot toast, throwing away what you can't use but always having immediate access to product. That means waste, which can also become too expensive for the operation. But at lea... See more