The Most Important Management Training Tip Ever…A Little Bit More

If you have not yet read yesterday’s blog post, “The Most Important Management Training Tip Ever”, please click on it now and read it first.

Ok, you’re back. Yesterday we talked about the single most important leadership skill; thinking and acting like a general manager. We said that you will know you have this skill mastered when you make decisions for the benefit of the organization that actually sacrifice some aspect of the part of the business you are responsible for.

We want to tell you a story about exactly what we mean by that.
Remember the blog post a while back that linked you to our article, “The Devil and Management Training”? If you have not read that one yet, please click here to link to the article and read it before you go on.

Ok, you’re back again. What does that story have to do with thinking and acting like a general manager?

During the 6 years of “Good Robert’s” leadership he continued to exhibit the leadership qualities that the management development program was teaching him. One of those leadership skills was thinking and acting like a general manger.

“Good Robert” was the mastermind behind a new business unit that he was certain was going to skyrocket to massive success. However, it was three years old and completely failing. It was generating millions of dollars a year in losses for the organization.

But, “Good Robert” was convinced that his idea was going to be successful if the organization just kept pumping more money into it and giving him more time to turn it around.

Now, back in his “Bad Robert” days there is no way he would have listened to anyone else’s opinion. But, those days were behind him. After long deliberations with his senior team partners he agreed to shut the business unit down.

This was very painful for him. The new business was his idea, he ran it, it was very visible in the community and industry. He had to publicly admit that his idea did not work. VERY HARD TO DO, BUT HE DID IT!

Hi did it for the good of the whole organization. “Good Robert” passed the test and everyone in that thriving organization continues to benefit from it.

To your continued success,

Rob Linn and Rich Ottaviano


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