The Means Is Necessary To Be Effective And Efficient

Is there a football team without a weakness?  No.  However, the team with the most means (talent, health, good manager and assistants, and most complete team) has the best chance of the Superbowl.  The same is true of any company.

You must have the means available (employees, machinery, and time) to get the job done effectively and efficiently .  You can't accomplish more than the means allow.  If you made mistakes, make note of it and rectify the problem.  If there’s a problem you can fix, fix it as soon as you can.  If the circumstance or situation is outside of your control, notify your manager.  Report the pros and cons of your recommendations when letting your boss know what you think is required to make the operation more effective and productive.  Involve your employees and include them in your circle of decision-making.  If you’ve done everything possible to make things work and they don’t, realize it’s no longer in your control.

You must have the means available (employees, machinery, and time) to get the job done effectively and efficiently.

You have a set number of employees, machinery, and time to get things done and unless you can change one of these variables, it’s out of your control. An experienced supervisor generally knows what’s possible, especially when they have tried everything they’ve thought of. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t keep trying, just that you shouldn’t beat yourself up needlessly. Always try, but don’t allow yourself to feel that you’ve failed.

For example, I agreed to help a Plant that was having a slough of different problems, including delays, service issues, and labor problems.  It didn’t take long to see the many causes behind the problems.  They included:

• Serious lack of communication
• High overtime rates (17% +) that had become the norm. 
• High absenteeism rate (6% +)
• Workplace bullies
• Burned out supervisors
• Cases of harassment
• Shortage of employees – there weren’t enough to staff operations adequately
• Incompetent supervision
• Lack of labor knowledge
• No weekend staffing

Through time, all of these were getting much better except for the overtime rate and a shortage of employees. Continued efforts for hiring approval hit a dead end with the District and Area levels.

Despite the numerous problems, this office still carried the highest productivity in the District. Unfortunately, the high rate of overtime was leading to increased absenteeism, accidents, and morale problems. I requested additional modifications to existing machines to make them more efficient, but the District denied these requests. In the end, there was nothing to do except admit defeat. The means weren’t there to do things the right there, nor any assistance provided.

The Characteristics Of Successful Leaders

Even thought the basic traits of successful leaders are basic, few have them while others don't desire to lead.

Generally, successful leaders share four basic traits.  These are:

1.           Intelligence (technical and people smart)

      2.           Self-confidence
      3.           Communication skills (personal and group)
      4.           Sensitivity to group needs (empathetic)

Leaders/winners are responsible and accept accountability for their own actions.  They realize that everything they do in life they have decided to do and nothing they have to do.  They are not the puppet, but the puppet master.

Winners make things happen by pursuing the development of their potential, consistently and endlessly.  They leave nothing to chance and take responsibility for everything they do, and for making the best use of their talents and potential.

Effective Delegation

Personal and organizational growth is dependent upon effective delegation, which is important to effective management.  Effective management must focus on results instead of methods.  Stewardship delegation involves giving people a choice of method and makes them responsible for results.  It takes more time up front, but it’s time well spent.  Stewardship delegation includes:

1. Clear, joint understanding of the desired results.
2. Established guidelines that identify the parameters the individual must work within.  Minimize parameters to every extent possible, while listing formidable restrictions.
3. Identify what resources he or she may draw on, including financial, technical, organizational, and human resources.  Let them know what they can’t do, but not what to do.
4. Discuss how performance will be measured and at what intervals reporting and evaluation will be done.
5. Specify the end result of either a positive or negative evaluation in regard to such things as awards and/or different job opportunities.

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Improving Performance – The PRICE system

Blanchard and Lorber, Ph. D’s and co-authors of Putting the One Minute Manager to Work, explain how to involve everyone in improving performance in their PRICE system.

They suggest the following five steps:

1. Pinpoint:  define key performance areas in observable, measurable terms.
2. Record:  performance measurement
3. Involve:
1. Share information with whoever is accountable and/or can influence performance
2. Involve in establishing activators (areas of accountability, performance standards, instructions)
3. Consequences for goal accomplishment have to be agreed upon.
4. Coach:  how are you going to supervise, observe their performance, and give them feedback
5. Evaluate:
1. How will it be done
2. Anticipated payoff for established performance
3. Involve employee via self-evaluation
4. As performance improves feedback sessions should be scheduled less frequently.  You want to gradually give more and more responsibility to them for monitoring their own performance.

Like any other system, if it is failing, check the input variables for inaccuracies, inconsistencies, consequences, etc.  Perhaps the goal is too easy, or maybe too difficult to achieve.  Maybe there are non-motivating consequences involved.

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Understanding the thinking of a Micromanager

Micromanagers love asserting their power and authority just because they can. They control others with an uncompromising sense of entitlement and self-interest.

They don’t trust people to assess their own workload, so they routinely dictate priorities and distort deadlines. They are notorious for interrupting others, misusing and mismanaging meetings, and perpetuating crises.

Micromanagers want everything done their way. After all, they think the boss knows best. They dismiss others’ knowledge, experience, and ideas then hover over them to make sure they’re doing things their way.
Micromanagers share responsibility, but not authority. They allow no one to move forward without their approval—even on routine or time-sensitive matters.

Micromanagers monitor others to death—requiring a stream of needless reports that focus on activity over outcomes.

Tips to Dealing with one

Every micromanager has an agenda. Find out what it is and work with him. The micromanager feels compelled to know what’s going on. Find out what he needs to feel confident and comfortable, and then get it to him.

The micromanager fears things remaining stationary or at the same pace more than other managers.

- Confusion runs high with the micromanager. Clarify your
conversations and agreements in a trail of memos and e-mails.
- The micromanager is notorious for piling it on.
- The micromanager loves to impose and even distort deadlines. Be the
first to talk—offering a timeline for when you can do a task (not
when you can’t).
- The micromanager enjoys catching people in the act. Avoid being an
easy target and play by the rules—particularly on policies regarding
time and technology.
- The micromanager backs off with some more than others. Watch them
closely to learn the secrets of their success.

The micromanager will go to war on every issue. If you’re going to stand up to him, pick the battles that are most important to you.
Managers of supervisors need to know their place. That means directing and coaching them (supervisors) without interfering with their operations directly. They shouldn’t be directing employees when the supervisor should be. They shouldn’t be doing the scheduling, vacation calendars, or over-ruling the decisions of their supervisors.

Micromanagers that fail to leave decision-making to supervisors undermine their own success. Supervisors will feel unappreciated, a feeling of distrust, and a lack of importance overall. This results in the opposite effect of empowerment and is destructive to the workplace.

- - - - -

The first two years after my boss first arrived, he was very good for leaving decisions in the proper hands. Employees knew they had to deal with their supervisors. This eventually changed as employees who were refused days off by their immediate supervisor went over their head and got it approved. Next, the boss demanded the vacation calendar. Finally, he was meddling in other personal conflicts on the floor that should’ve been left to the floor supervisor. This problem grew to the point where people got what they wanted from their supervisor or they’d say, “Fine, I’ll just take it to Jim, he’ll okay it.” Eventually, Jim realized we were being played by some of the employees and stopped this bad practice.

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James 14 - What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? 15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If one of you says to him, “Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,” but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? 17In the same way, faith by itself, if not accompanied by action, is dead.

James 2:26 - - As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead.

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The Bible Holds More Answers than all other References

Whether you are an atheist, religious follower of another faith, or still undecided, the Bible carries the many truths of all walks-of-life. The focus of this book will be limited largely to characteristics of leaders and the many examples of leadership found within the Bible. This is not the first book on leadership, success, and winning making references to the Bible and certainly not the last. Some of the many books including the Bible in its bibliography and/or index are: The Success System That Never Fails (W. Clement Stone), The Psychology of Winning (Dr. Denis Waitley), and The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People (Stephen R. Covey).

Jesus gave everything to his cause, trained his seven disciples to carry on after his absence, and founded the movement of Christianity that thrives today. He displayed true leadership in every verbal and non-verbal manner, responded wisely to rhetoric and actions, and shared infinite wisdom. The world thrives on a higher, natural order and when we engage them and make them our own, we will improve our chances of success.

Jesus is unequivocally the greatest leader that ever walked the Earth. His words and actions have been tested and tried through thousands of years and stand unscathed. He persuaded the people around him that he was the son of God and that Heaven existed for the faithful. Jesus was the only one to cross over into death and return. Jesus shared the promise God gives everyone that believes in him, eternal life in Heaven.

He convinced others through miracles and his teachings. He reinvigorated the Christian movement that lasts yet today. No other leader comes remotely close to this achievement. Imagine for a moment how carefully and meticulously scrutinized his teachings have been and how they still stand today unchanged. They form the basic building blocks of all civilization, including its rules of conduct and behavior. When you employ these teachings to every extent possible, you will have the most complete life possible. You will enjoy more success, contentment, and fulfillment than ever imagined. That is not to say that there won’t be times of sacrifice and suffering. There will be. Humans must endure these times and learn the lesson that comes from them. They are necessary if one is ever to experience the thrill of success. What is good if there is not evil? What is success if there is no failure? What is happiness without unhappiness?

And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times. Psalm 12:6

Jesus is the ultimate teacher of ethics, morals, integrity, honesty, and fairness. He showed favoritism to no one, demanded little, and gave everything. He built relationships and lifted up the oppressed. He taught others how to deal with their enemies, love their neighbor, and live a righteous, moral life. As important as teaching, Jesus showed people how to live morally by the way he lived his own life.

The bible is the ultimate self-help book available. Only Jesus and God himself could give the right answer to all questions the first time, immediately.

Every management book in existence relies on the principles and guidelines of the bible, the true source of management, leadership, and happy living skills. The closer we walk with God the more we began to understand the driving forces in life.


Psalms 23:3 - he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

How does God guide us? (23:3) - - God does not reveal every detail of his plan for our lives. Nevertheless, there is an inner assurance that comes when we do his will. Developing a close, dependent relationship with the Lord will help us follow his way. And if we do the things we know God wants us to do, we’ll discover more details about his will for us.

Proverbs 20:7 – “The righteous man leads a blameless life; blessed are his children after him.”

Does blameless mean we must measure up to a list of rules? (20:7) - - Blameless does not imply perfection but integrity. Someone with integrity believes in God and strives constantly to align his life with God’s will.

To read more about this book or purchase it now, click here for "Secret Techniques of the Successful Moral Manager."

Where does the Bible fit in with Leadership?

A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education. Theodore Roosevelt

The common traits of all successful leaders include a strong commitment to ethics, morals, integrity, and self-discipline.  They have a desire for excellence within them and know how to motivate their employees along the same line.

There is no better source for moral, spiritual, and ethical guidelines than the bible.  Jesus was the ultimate teacher of living right, living just.  He motivated by being, doing, and speaking.  Jesus demonstrated leadership on all levels; he treated everyone justly, fairly, and equally; and filled all the parts of the all consummated being and leader.

 Principle-centered living unleashes personal power in the form of a self-aware, knowledgeable, proactive individual, unrestricted by the attitudes, behaviors, and actions of others.  They are also unaffected by the situations and environmental influences that affect others.

The Bible will transform our lives And turn us from sin, If we read it and obey God’s principles within. - Sper

We reap the consequences of our choices.  The closer we follow God’s way, the more God will show us the way he has chosen for us.

To read more about this book or purchase it now, click here for "Secret Techniques of the Successful Moral Manager."

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Secret Management Techniques that only Managers that work with People know

How do you learn all the tricks of the trade involved in leadership without spending the years suffering the pains?  Quite simply, you learn from those that took that very route.  Thanks to their trials, errors, and successes, you can avoid many of the barriers they encountered and propel yourself upwards much faster.  When you run into problems, you will know how they handled a similar situation and how they fared.  This allows you the advantage of insight.  You accelerate your progress by learning from those that have the experience, characteristics, and attitude that successful leaders and winners of life have.

Successful executives at mid and high level positions learned the majority of what they know from their initial supervisory position.  This book delves into the minds of many successful leaders at various levels, but particularly the initial level.  Experience at the initial level helps form your managing style.  If you want to succeed as a leader and many other aspects of life as well, you need to learn the secrets used by other successful managers.

“Leaders must invoke an alchemy of great vision.  Those who do not are ultimately judged failures, even though they may be popular at the moment.”  Henry Kissinger.

Effective managers know how to maximize the efforts of employees and the means available to them (equipment, processes, etc.).  More importantly, they know how to maximize their own efforts and that of their employees.  They maintain a long-term vision of the desired direction, while working through day-to-day operations.

The greatest common denominator of all great people is their commitment to living a moral, value-based life.  Strict morals (honesty, integrity, character, etc.) allow a person to avoid the pitfalls that befall so many men and women.  Successful people know that doing wrong, immoral things is paid for thousands of times.  Your conscience becomes ridden by guilt and you suffer a dear price.  Continued denial of wrongdoing furthers your erosion of character.  Others can see what you so desperately try to keep hidden and begin to question your character.  Strong moral values expand your influence while immorality restricts.  Buy Secret Techniques of Successful Moral Managers now...

The Circle of Productivity, Effective Leadership, & Winning

Dr. Viktor Frankl in his book Man’s Search for Meaning described his conversations with other prisoners in Nazi concentration camps during World War II.  In the death camps, inmates told Frankl that they no longer expected anything from life.  Frankl suggested they had it backwards.  “Life was expecting something of them.  Life asks every individual to discover what it should be.”

Romans 12:  6We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.  If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith.  7If it is serving, let him serve;  if it is teaching, let him teach;  8if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

A good life or a bad life takes an equal amount of energy and effort.  A good life may become a great life if you follow some basic rules.  On the other hand, if you have a bad life, great misery is just a step away.  Each of us has the power within ourselves to determine what kind of life we desire.

If you have the desire to be a great leader and bust through to new levels of leadership, this book is for you.  This path to success is possible when we realize that any limits are self-imposed.

I have struggled myself through many self-imposed obstacles in life.  One for example was a serious fear of public speaking.  In fact, it was the very last class I took in college.  I also avoided any speaking parts in other classes up to that time.  I had extremely low self-esteem and felt everyone would laugh at me if I opened my mouth.  I came to the crossroads one day when I wasn’t selected for an opportunity to train other employees.  The reason given to me was that I was too quiet.  I realized then that I wouldn’t go anywhere unless I was willing to step outside of my comfort zone.  It wasn’t easy or comfortable for me to give public speeches, but I forced myself.  It took a very long time, but I’m can do it reasonably well now and won’t let that stand in my way of pursuing things I want.  I attribute my ability to constantly step outside my comfort zone to self-discipline and a higher desire to do things that challenge myself.

Teach me your way, O LORD; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors.  Psalm 27:11

We learn early on that the shortest distance between two points is a straight line.  In life, it is also the fastest to walk a path without twists and turns, bumps, and bends.  Everyone should strive to take the righteous and safe path to their destination.

Psalm 26:12 - - My feet stand on level ground; in the great assembly I will praise the LORD.

What did level ground signify?  (26:12) - - A place of confidence and security, where one does not trip and fall over temptation or evil.  It may also refer literally to the level courtyards where the godly gathered to worship the LORD.

Ephesians 2:10 - - For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

To read more about this book or purchase it now, click here for "Secret Techniques of the Successful Moral Manager."