'Neutron Jack's' leadership points for Singaporean managers

I have relatively recently returned from Harvard Business School having completed Harvard’s Advanced Management Program, amongst the many fantastic experiences and lecturers by industry guru’s as Michael Porter and Clayton Christensen etc. there is one lunch meeting with a legend that still stays on top of my many study notes from the Harvard experience.

Meeting with Jack (neutron) Welch tops the list in terms of his clear no nonsense presentation of crisp direct and unwavering views in terms of managements responsibility and obligations.

So the enclosed notes taken from Neutron Jacks talk during a lunch in Boston will have some direct usefulness in today’s business climate

- Be religious about your company’s differentiation, ensure constant organizational innovation from all layers in the organization – have the most suitable and best technology to support your staff and work processes

- Be passionate about always looking at where you can create value ad and build upon your present product offering but daily identify where you can develop more value for your existing customers

- Hire the best and be prepared to pay to keep them / excite your stars and engage them in the company’s development. Identify the best people working for your competitors and get them to work for you

- Product strategy is the product. Define how your product is seen in the market place, be crystal clear on how the market perceive your company and its products

- Deliver measurable shareholders clear value from your work, put a figure on your direct contributions, what are you worth to the organization?

- Develop the right way to hire, always let go of staff that can be replaced by someone better – be fanatic about it and always look at what brings best shareholder value, shareholder value is the most important and everything else comes second.

- Constantly motivate your stars, encourage them daily and praise them – if an employee must go/do it the right and proper way. And shame on you if you have not indicated what exactly needs to change/improve before you give them notice – as long as you have an employee and regardless if it’s a star or under performer your actions towards all staff must be fair and seen as consistent both internally and externally

- Operate over the limit, give your boss and shareholders more than they ask for – always give more. Give your boss perspectives and visions – feed him/her with vision and ideas

- Always have options in your career and have clear timelines for what you want to do and achieve by when

- Victims are unattractive people

- Exaggerate your teams successes and praise them and pay them, worship your stars and remove the none performers quickly

- Great companies promote people who develop stars, often the best are the ones that don’t claim glory – the narcissist will not last long term

- Be candid during appraisals and have appraisals every 3 months, be dead honest

- You must really know your star employees in detail, understand what motivates them and know how performance can be improved

- Find a better way every day and retrench the ones that don’t deliver profits on agreed progress scales, be ruthless

- Never eat alone, meet your customers every day, you don’t have to ask for the business all the time when you meet – it is often more important to take notes and ask and ask and don’t tell – be religious about where and how you can further differentiate and make things better for your customers

- Define your company’s culture, values and passion for excellence

- Think from a star employees standpoint; ‘what is in it for them?’ explain and provide what is needed

- Demonstrate authentic passion and honesty towards your employees

End of lunch with a legend. 

Leonard Opitz Stornes, Managing Director, NHST Media Group Asia