UNFAIR ADVANTAGE – HOW TO GROW WITH STRONG A FOUNDATION
By Raj Ganesan, America’s Leading Management Consultant
Leadership qualities are critical when you want to grow - command, compete and close business opportunities. Your leadership style influences everyone around you. As a leader you act as a role model and provoke others to be their best. People observe you listening abilities, how you prepare to react and respond. Groundwork is the key to growth.
Why you do things is predicated upon your rationale which in turn comes with conviction and responsibility. You cannot get everything done nor can you be successful without having people believe in you. It is your ultimate responsibility to create TRUST and develop followers. These strategies have shaped
hundreds of executive’s success in growing their business.
1. YOUR BUSINESS MUST CREATE SOCIAL VALUE. All
others are predicated upon this SUCCESS.
2. People work WITH you and not FOR you.
3. You are only recognized by the RESULTS you create,
all others are secondary.
4. Create goals that ALIGN with BUSINESS VALUE, not
just revenue.
5. There are only two ways to grow – grow revenue or
increase market share. Focus on the later.
6. CELEBRATE anything your team has done
DIFFERENT.
7. Hire for the right reason, outsource the rest.
8. Have a MENTOR at all times. Insist on others having
mentors.
9. WALL YOUR TALK before you expect employees to
produce results.
10. GENUINITY demonstrates value. GENUINITY must
come from your heart.
11. SINCERITY creates trust. Be sincere in keeping your
commitment at all times.
12. Even LEADERS want to be followers. Recognize
when you become a follower.
13. Not all employees are ‘sold’ on your decisions.
Encourage constructive disagreement.
14. ENCOURAGE employees to EXHAUST disagreement
opinions. They WANT to be heard.
15. CHANGE your employee titles to CREW MEMBERS
or FLIGHT MEMBERS
16. ALWAYS have the opening remarks. Focus on the
big picture and outcome.
17. TEACH them fishing lessons ONLY if you are good in
FISHING. BRING a fishing expert otherwise.
18. INFUSE energy mid-afternoon or slowest part of
the day. THEY NEED IT!
19. TREAT people as MATURE adults. Say so inspiringly.
Make them feel product of being an ADULT.
20. When you face ‘the sky is falling’ syndrome, SMILE.
Don’t respond to people’s panic. CALM them.
Notice number of time it happens daily.
21. COMMUNICATE regularly, VARY – locations, tone,
pitch and messages.
22. It is not what you say, it is what they understood.
SEEK CLARITY.
23. Develop FORWARD LOOKING INDICATORS. Most of
the current metrics are historic.
24. People see you before you utter the first word.
Prepare your body to talk equally. COMMUNICATE
visually.
25. Your actions are analyzed exponentially by your
employees. Measure twice before doing anything.
26. DELIBERATELY pause after key message. Allow it to
get into people’s head.
27. ASK. ASK. ASK. Answer occasionally.
28. Prepare people for independent decisions.
Communicate metrics, attributes and milestones.
Seek the same.
29. CREATE grapevine and measure reverberation.
30. RESPECT people as human beings (as your parents)
when someone walks through the door. Not as
employee, clients, prospects or
31. DO NOT compromise for mediocre. ONCE
ACCEPTED, it becomes a practice.
32. Journey of Success, starts with being DIFFERENT,
DELIVERATE and MAKING DECISIONS.
33. Show your weakness. You demonstrate ‘I am like
you’ emotion.
34. Motivate CREATIVITY. Look closely at children for
clues.
35. When communicating, evaluate responses from
multiple view points. Prepare ‘Point of View’ ahead
of time.
36. USE PICTURE WORDS. People see the picture of
‘dog’ when you say DOG, not the letters in dog.
37. Play with COLORS, shapes to simulate mind.
38. Having one regular meeting outside of the office –
park, beach or any nearby place. Encourage FUN!
39. Know why and when QUIT. Start with EXIT
milestone and pay close attention as you move
along.
40. YOU are doing your work for having a LIFE. Not the
other way. Prioritize differently.
41. For next 10 days, leave things incomplete. RETURN
next day and do it. Better – Learn to DELIGATE.
42. Before SAYING, SEEK INTERNAL CLARITY. Why are
you saying so?
43. RECOGNIZE people’s behavior and enquire when
they do not look NORMAL. Build COMPASSION.
44. KNOW WHAT MOTIVATES – Money, Knowledge or
Recognition. Reward accordingly. Cycle Often.
45. Do not compromise your VALUE SYSTEM to suit
others. AGREE to DISAGREE on moral grounds.
People who want to do business will respect it
Article by Raj Ganesan, America’s leading Management Consultant and MD, The Business Labs Inc (www.thebusinesslabs.com), has the talent for turning what seems a complicated business and distilling it down to easily understood and reproducible steps. Using many of the success strategies he learnt and mastered as a young entrepreneur where he grew a start-up from zero to $20 million, as a Director for PwC LLP, Senior Manager KPMG/BearingPoint advising hundreds of Fortune 500 firms and global companies, Raj will let you on the practicalstrategies as well as the often neglected tools necessary to grow. He has an MS, MBA (Duke University) and an Adjunct Professor in two leading Business Schools. He also is an author of 3 books.
To your Growth & Success
Ravi Padmanabhan
09841438486
Chennai Entrepreneurs Meetup
