» Flashback: a warm summer night, almost twenty years ago. My best friend—financial director of a European trust—and I were drinking coffee and philosophizing about business.
At one point he makes a statement that changes the mood and makes me pause:
"People are born either as managers or as worker bees."
Wow!
Is my friend right? Are leaders really born, not made?
Is it true that some of those skills can never be learned and you can't become a better leader than you are right now?
Don't history and commonsense both tell us that this is simply not true. Ronald Reagan became President when he was 70. If he was a born leader, wouldn't this have happened much sooner?
"Management is nothing more than motivating other people."
Lee Iacocca
"I can do that!" many will answer. "I can motivate others." But can they?
In 2004 Henry Mintzberg famously asked for "Managers, not MBAs" in his book of the same name. In May 2005 the Harvard Business Review published "How Business Schools Lost Their Way," Warren Bennis' and James O'Toole's take on managers failing because of the theoretical-centered education provided by most top business schools.
Is there really anything new? Can any management guru teach you something that hasn't yet been discovered and put into practice?
No.
The truth is that it’s all about existing knowledge presented in new ways. More than that, it’s about teaching knowledge in ways the student understands—then uses.
Everyone who teaches—and good managers do teach their employees—ought to be able to recognize quickly how well the student is absorbing the material being taught, and how to adjust the flow of information to each student's needs.
Among the essential components for a successful teaching experience are high standards and expectations, ongoing feedback, and a respectful dynamic that engages both teacher and student.
The problem is that too often the PROCESS becomes the focus instead of the RESULTS. How often have you sat in a meeting that made a mountain of a relatively simple agenda?
If you don't know—you're almost certainly managing.
There is a great difference between a typical manager and a leader.
Frank's book turns readers into leaders using the same proven techniques he's taught to senior executives at Fortune 500 companies including IBM, Monster.com and AOL/TimeWarner, over the past two decades.
By asking simple questions Frank, guides readers through a re-exploration of business processes to help you reconnect with your vision. More importantly, he shows you how to realize that vision through actionable steps that lead to dramatic results.