THE GENERAL MANAGERS JOB: MYTHS, REALITIES

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THE GENERAL MANAGERS JOB MYTHS, REALITIES TIPS

• MICHAEL W. PICZAK
• Dipl.T., B.Comm., MBA

11/16/00
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SO WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE?

• THEY GO BY A VARIETY OF TITLES
• Chairman of the Board
• President
• Division Manager
• Executive Director
• Managing Director
• Chief Executive Officer (CEO)
• General Manager (GM)
• Chief Administrative Officer (CAO)

• AND OTHER TITLES INCLUDING
• Top Dog
• Big Kahuna
• Top Banana
• Grand Fromage
• The Big Guy
• The Big Shot
• Head Honcho

Sam Walton, Walmart
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WHAT WE ARE TAUGHT...

• PLAN
• ORGANIZE
• LEAD
• MOTIVATE
• CONTROL

Amy Brinkley, President, Bank of America
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AND WE GROW UP TO BE

• MARKETING MANAGERS
• ACCOUNTING MANAGERS
• OPERATIONS MANAGERS
• HUMAN RESOURCE MANAGERS
• AND SO ON

Jack Welch, General Electric
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THREE GENERIC SKILLS

• TECHNICAL
• HUMAN
• CONCEPTUAL
• KATZ, HBR, 1958

William Clay Ford, Jr., Ford Motor Company
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HOW DO YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO?
YOULL FIGURE IT OUT
Joe Tricia Camillo, Niko Apparel
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NEW BEHAVIOURS
REQUIRED
Ken Lay, Enron
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MYTH 1 YOURE THE BOSS, YOU GIVE
THE ORDERS

• REALITY
• LEADERSHIP IS AS MUCH ABOUT PROVIDING VISION AND
  DIRECTION AS IT IS BUILDING CONSENSUS AROUND THAT
  DIRECTION
• PEOPLE DO NOT RESPOND TO DICTATORSHIPS
• SO YOU HAVE THE MARKET CORNERED ON ALL THE
  ANSWERS?

Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia
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MYTH 2 YOU ALWAYS HAVE TO LEAD AFTER ALL,
YOU ARE THE LEADER

• REALITY
• THERE IS A TIME FOR LEADERSHIP AND A TIME FOR
  FOLLOWERSHIP
• THE ULTIMATE IN LEADERSHIP OCCURS WHEN
  SUBORDINATES, UPON COMPLETION OF A TASK, CLAIM
  THAT THEY DID IT THEMSELVES
• DONT CONFUSE CONTENT WITH PROCESS

Betty Cohen, Cartoon Network
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MYTH 3 GO WITH PROGRAM AFTER PROGRAM,
FOLLOWED BY PROGRAM FOLLOWED BY

• REALITY
• A MANY PROGRAMS APPROACH FLAVOUR OF THE MONTH
• TOO MANY PROGRAMS CONFUSE RATHER THAN CLARIFY
• IN LONG RUN, AN ALPHABET SOUP APPROACH PROMOTES
  CYNICISM

Steven Jobs, Apple Computers
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MYTH 4 THE MAIN FOCUS IS INTERNAL

• REALITY
• CUSTOMERS ARE KEY
• DUAL RESPONSIBILITY
• POINT OF KEY CONTACT FOR THE ORGANIZATION

Herb Kelleher, Southwest Airlines
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MYTH 5 STRATEGY IS SYSTEMATICALLY PLANNED
EXECUTED

• REALITY
• RATHER THAN BEING A REFLECTIVE, SEQUENTIAL
  PROCESS, STRATEGIC PLANNING EXECUTION IS OFTEN
  EMERGENT
• MANY BENDS IN THE ROAD

Anne Mulcahy, Xerox
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MYTH 6 THEY KNOW WHAT TO DO THEY
DONT NEED ME TO TELL THEM

• REALITY
• TOP PERSON SETS THE DIRECTION AND EXPECTATIONS
• NOT SPECIFICS, BUT VALUES, MORAL GUIDEPOSTS, AND
  BROAD GOALS/OBJECTIVES

Ron Foxcroft, Fox 40 Products
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MYTH 7 ITS THE SAME AS BEFORE A BIT
BEFORE
A BIT

• GENERALIST
• PROFITSFOCUS
• LONGER TERM
• EFFECTIVENESS EFFICIENCY
• BROADER SCOPE
• STRATEGIC DECISIONS

• SPECIALIST
• COSTSFOCUS
• SHORTER TERM
• FUNCTIONAL MEASURES
• NARROWER SCOPE
• OPERATIONAL DECISIONS

Oprah Winfrey, Harpo Entertainment Group
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A BIT MORE
Jeanne Jackson, Walmart.com
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4 BROAD CATEGORIES OF OPERATING PERFORMANCE

• PROFITABILITY
• FINANCIAL POSITION
• MARKET PERFORMANCE
• SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Meg Whitman, eBay
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PROFITABILITY

• PROFIT MARGINS (GROSS OPERATING)
• KEY EXPENSE RATIOS
• ROA
• ROE
• ROS
• STOCK PRICE

Peter George, McMaster University
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FINANCIAL POSITION

• LEVERAGE RATIOS (DEBT TO EQUITY, INTEREST
  COVERAGE)
• LIQUIDITY RATIOS (CURRENT, QUICK)
• ACTIVITY RATIOS (ASSET AND INVENTORY TURNOVER)

Thersa Cascioli, Lakeport Brewery
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MARKET PERFORMANCE

• GROWTH
• ABSOLUTE LEVEL GROWTH RATE OF SALES
• MARKET SHARE (UNITS REVENUE)
• NEW PRODUCTS AS A OF SALES PROFITS

Don McNally, Net Access
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WHAT ABOUT ORGANIZATIONAL HEALTH?

• INTERNAL VIEW OF PERFORMANCE
• SOFTER MEASURES
• OFTEN NEGLECTED
• CAN IMPACT FINANCIAL WELL BEING
• OFTEN ASSUMED WILL TAKE CARE OF ITSELF

Bill Gates, Microsoft
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PEOPLE POWER MEASURES

• INNOVATION
• MUTUAL TRUST AND RESPECT
• TEAMWORK
• DIVERSITY

Carly Fiorina, Hewlett Packard
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WHAT DOES THIS MEAN?

• SET MORE CHALLENGING GOALS WITH MORE INVOLVEMENT
  WITH THIS PROCESS
• LINK COMPENSATION TO COMPLETION OF THOSE GOALS
• MORE ORIENTATION TOWARD LONG TERM PERFORMANCE

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SOCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

• DUTY TO STAKEHOLDERS INCLUDING CUSTOMERS,
  SUPPLIERS, EMPLOYEES, THE PUBLIC
• LEADERS INCLUDE TARGET, NEW YORK TIMES, MERCK,
  DOFASCO, BMW

Train
Tortoise
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WHAT DO THEY LOOK TO YOU FOR?

• VISION (CHANGE DIRECTION PACE)
• WHAT IS EXPECTED?
• WHAT IS ALLOWED?
• WHAT IS IMPORTANT?
• WHAT GETS MEASURED?
• STYLE

Catherine Rellinger, Mohawk College
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CONTRASTING 2 HIGH VISIBILITY GENERAL MANAGERS
STYLES
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CONTRASTING GEORGE W. BUSH AND AL GORE

• SLEEP IN
• NO APPOINTMENTS UNTIL 9
• 1140, 2 HOUR PRIVATE TIME
• BACK AT 130, NO MEETINGS UNTIL 3
• PLAY VIDEO GAMES, SURF NET
• MEETINGS CONSIST OF CHIT CHAT (BASEBALL TALK)

• UP AT 530
• REVIEW MORNING PAPERS
• POLICY BRIEFING BREAKFAST
• FULL SLATE OF LEGISLATIVE MEETING
• ADMINISTRATIVE MEETINGS
• STATE MEETINGS

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GORE VS. BUSH ROUND 2

• DELEGATE
• RESIST MEETINGS (THEYRE BORING)
• 500 P.M. LEAVE
• KICK OUT FRIENDS AT 900 FOR BED

• WORKING LUNCH
• POLICY BRIEFINGS
• CABINET MEETINGS
• JOG
• POWER SNOOZE
• PUBLIC APPEARANCES
• WATCH MAJOR NEWSCASTS
• READ AFTERNOON PAPERS
• FINAL MEETINGS/BRIEFINGS FOR NEXT DAY

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SOME TIPS BY US

• SKILLS/TRAITS REQUIRED
• HOW TO GET NOTICED AND SHOW POTENTIAL
• WHAT IT WILL BE LIKE ONCE YOURE THERE
• THE DANGERS ONCE YOURE THERE
• DAY TO DAY ISSUES YOU WILL CONCERN YOURSELF WITH
• OTHER TIPS

Don Fell, Fel-Fab Industries
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SKILLS/TRAITS REQUIRED

• CONCEPTUAL THINKING
• OPEN MINDED
• SINGULAR PURPOSE
• SAY WHAT YOU MEAN MEAN WHAT YOU SAY
• HAVE YOUR VALUES BELIEFS IN ORDER
• RETAIN THE COMMON TOUCH
• BE BOLD, BE PASSIONATE

Stacey Snider, Universal Pictures
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HOW TO GET NOTICED AND SHOW POTENTIAL

• WRITE IT DOWN MAKE THEM WORK FROM YOUR DOCUMENT
• SUMMARIZE DISCUSSIONS
• WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?
• ATTEND TO DETAILS WHILE MINDFUL OF THE BIG
  PICTURE
• HAVE A 5 PRONG PROGRAM/PLAN

Andrea Jung, Avon Products
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WHAT IT WILL BE LIKE ONCE YOURE THERE

• LONG HOURS
• ALONE
• WATCH OUT NOT TO PLAY FAVOURITES
• FISH BOWL
• WONT KNOW IF YOURE EFFECTIVE UNTIL TIME PASSES

Barry Brownlow, Brownlow Associates
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THE DANGERS ONCE YOURE THERE

• WALKING THE TALK
• NOT WALKING THE TALK
• CLOSER TO THE DOOR
• NOT BEING AVAILABLE
• NEEDS OF COMPANY CHANGE BUT YOU STAY THE SAME
• EVERYONE NOT LIKE YOU
• WATCH PERSONAL LIFE

Sherry Lansing, ParamountStudios
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DAY TO DAY ISSUES YOU WILL CONCERN YOURSELF WITH

• ORGANIZATIONAL CLIMATE
• MOVING PROCESS/PROGRAMS ALONG
• PROBLEM FINDING
• OPPORTUNITY FINDING
• MANAGING CULTURE
• FORCING STRATEGIC THINKING

Bill Henderson, GHTEC
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FINALLY

• HAPPINESS IS A WARMED UP RESUME
• BE FORTHRIGHT
• HOLD PEOPLE ACCOUNTABLE
• FOLLOWUP ON ASSIGNMENTS
• OBSTACLES ARE THE OTHER GUYS PROBLEMS
• DONT MAKE A DECISION, THEN HAVE A MEETING FOR
  INPUT
• GET OUT OF YOUR OFFICE
• STAY CURRENT READ, PURPOSEFUL TV, TRAVEL
• USE YOUR COMMON SENSE

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THIS IS YOUR FUNCTION
Larry Ellison, Oracle Systems
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BLEED CORPORATE