Read an extremely good article in ET friday last. Written by Verne Harnish, he says:
What is the underlying handful of fundamentals that drive everything else that’s important in business? What is still fundamental today in building a successful firm that hasn’t changed for over a hundred years? Tom Meredith, former CFO of Dell Computer, and I were discussing how the fundamentals that create a great business are the same as those for parenting great kids.
Anyone with children will recognise the fundamentals as:
- Have a handful of rules
- Repeat yourself a lot
- Act consistent with those rules (which is why you better have only a few rules)
Further, he also quotes from Rockefeller’s leadership and management principles:
Priorities - Does the organisation have objective Top five priorities for the year and the quarter (the month, if growing over 100% annually) and a clear Top one priority along with an appropriate theme? Does everyone in the organisation have their own handful of priorities that align with the company’s priorities?
Data - Does the organisation have sufficient data on a daily and weekly basis to provide insight into how the organisation is running and what the market is demanding? Does everyone in the organisation have at least one key daily or weekly metric driving his or her performance?
Rhythm - Does the organisation have an effective rhythm of daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual meetings to maintain alignment and drive accountability? Are the meetings well run and useful?