Yesterday I got my Zinio version of the June Harvard Business Review. [btw, Zinio is pretty cool offline magazine subscription reader].
The premeire article was by Peter Drucker: “What Makes an Effective Executive.”
Premace: Great managers may be charismatic or dull, generous or tightfisted, visionary or numbers oriented. But every effective executive follows eight simple practices.
1. They asked, “What needs to be done?” 2. They asked, “What is right for the enterprise?” 3. They developed action plans 4. They took responsibility for decisions. 5. They took responsibility for communicating 6. They were focused on opportunities rather than problems 7. They ran productive meetings 8. They thought and said “we” rather than “I.”
I think this is a great, to-the-point list for managers. It comes at a perfect time as I move into a new position in Dell.
In future postings, I’ll compare and highlight top management principles in my two favorite management books: First Break All the Rules and Good to Great (Level 5 Leadership).