Table of Contents
- Contents
BUSINESS TOOLS FOR SUCCESS
ALL THE MANAGEMENT MODELS THAT MATTER IN 400 WORDS OR LESS
JEREMY KOURDI
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Acknowledgements
This book is inspired by many people. First, thanks are due to the business thinkers who have researched, reflected, discovered and developed the practical insights that are explained in this book. Business is a positive, progressive and practical enterprise, and this book is designed to benefit and support anyone pursuing a career in this vital area. Business thinkers and leaders ensure our prosperity and employment; their work enriches our lives; they stimulate, develop and challenge us, and they help us go further than ever before. They are too often pilloried for their occasional shortcomings while their intelligence, originality and success are too rarely acknowledged.
On a much more personal note I owe a huge debt to all my clients and colleagues who have, without doubt, provided the most interesting and exciting environment in which to work, learn and develop. Particular thanks are due to my friend and colleague Brian Edwards: an inspiring coach, a talented leader, and a constant source of clarity, insight and support.
I am also very grateful to Julie Kourdi who has worked as researcher and editor with great intelligence and tireless skill, expertise and good humour. She has been a constant source of help and sound advice.
Finally, thanks are due to the talented publishing team at Hodder & Stoughton whose patience and expertise is much appreciated.
I hope that these ideas will provide you with the inspiration to find out more and stimulate your thinking along new, creative lines, generating brilliant ideas for the future.
Jeremy Kourdi
Contents
Introduction
What is the key to success in business for individuals, managers and organizations? Many answers come to mind, notably the ability to serve customers by providing great products or service and creating value, and to do this in way that is efficient, competitive, profitable and valued. Meeting this challenge, however, requires a range of leadership skills, including: the ability to innovate, to learn and develop; to get the best from the people, knowledge and resources around you; and to build business relationships inside and outside the organization. And if all this were not difficult enough, these things need to be achieved constantly, while expectations, opportunities and challenges are constantly shifting. Now, more than ever, is a time of complexity, volatility and change.
New ideas, energy and the ability to fit new contexts and meet new challenges are therefore needed constantly to ensure success. That is why business tools and techniques are so valuable because they help us meet the many varied challenges faced by business managers and leaders. This is a book about some of the best tools and techniques used in business. What unites these business ideas is their proven power and potency. They are not only insightful and useful but they have worked and often brilliantly or despite great adversity. The ability of the people who conceived and applied these ideas should be applauded.
Interestingly, there are several different themes that run through many of these ideas. These include a willingness to experiment and take a risk, coupled with an ability to understand the root causes of an issue and do something distinctive. Simplicity and an understanding of the need to be practical and implement the idea are also common features of these techniques. Some ideas seem to confirm Peter Druckers point that great ideas and decisions are a blend of rigorous analysis and intuition. Finally, the need to be practical, follow through and ensure success is shown by the recurring need to monitor, measure and refine the way the idea works.
There are several specific qualities that characterize the ideas in this book. Keeping these in mind will help you succeed with each technique by applying it successfully to your own context.
In particular, the likelihood of success increases if you:
engage people with the technique wherever possible and appropriate
be clear about the specific challenge, issue or opportunity that is being addressed
question and constantly challenge assumptions: yours and others
develop a mindset that looks for ways to learn and improve, and are ready to confront challenges and problems early
understand that good ideas can come from anywhere
follow through be practical and realistic, and plan implementation
give people praise and credit, thereby building momentum
work tirelessly to remove constraints, fears and inhibitions
balance intuition and analysis
build collaboration and teamwork
avoid the pitfalls of decision-making (see technique number 86)
be self-aware and develop your skills.
Remember: energy, flexibility, creativity and ingenuity are vital, and there is no room for complacency and little tolerance for inefficiency.
I hope that these ideas will help you with your work and stimulate your thinking along new, creative lines, generating brilliant ideas for the future.
Jeremy Kourdi
LEADERSHIP AND CHANGE
CHAPTER 1
THE GROW MODEL FOR COACHING
The single most important technique for executive coaching
The GROW model, developed by Sir John Whitmore, provides a framework for coaching. GROW has four stages: Goals, Reality, Options and Way forward. Responsibility for setting goals rests with the coachee. The coach works in a non-directive way, supporting and challenging.
Goals
This focuses on the coachees aims and priorities. It sets the agenda for the coaching conversation. The coach should be flexible and prepared to explore, question and challenge. This is achieved with questioning and empathy. The outcome is a clear set of goals for the session and the overall coaching relationship.
Questions include:
What is your goal?
What are your priorities?
What are you trying to achieve?
How will you know when you have achieved it?
Is the goal specific and measurable?
How will you know when it has been achieved?
What will success look like?
Reality
Explore the learners current position: the reality of their circumstances and their concerns relating to their goals. The coach needs to help the coachee analyse and understand the significant issues relating to their goal through intelligent questioning. The coach can also provide information and summarize the situation to clarify the reality.
Questions include:
Can you control the result? What dont you have control over?
What are the milestones or key points to achieving goals?
Who is involved and what effect could they have?
