Free The Rules Of Management (Pioneer Panel's Library) by Richard Templar

you unhealthly, or stressed out.
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    NOT LETTING IT GET TO YOU DOESN’T MEAN NOT CARING OR NOT TAKING PRIDE AND PLEASURE IN WHAT YOU DO.
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Chapter 42. Know What You Are Supposed to Be Doing

    So what are you supposed to be doing? It’s very easy to think you know, but do you really? It’s like when your boss says, “I want this done as soon as possible.” Now that’s really easy; isn’t it? Well, actually no. As soon as whose idea of possible? Yours? The boss’s? And does “want” imply a wish or a need? And “done” is open to all sorts of interpretation.
    I know I’m being picky and pedantic but I’m illustrating a point here. You know you have a team and you have to manage it. You know you have budgets and figures and targets and they all have to be met. You know you have a forward-looking strategy and you would like to implement that. You know you have a contract and a job description.
    But what are you supposed to be doing? What’s your priority? What’s the end point? What’s the goal? Has anything changed recently. (Senior management sometimes have a way of changing their minds and expecting you to know telepathically?)
    I once worked for a senior manager who, to all outward appearances, wanted my team to be successful and productive but who seemed to be hampering my every move. Whenever I wanted to make changes that would drastically improve our figures, he hesitated and delayed and wouldn’t make a decision. I couldn’t figure out what I was supposed to be doing. I wanted to run the department for him as well as I could, but he seemed to be putting obstacles in my path.
    Eventually I discovered that another department—run by a relative of his—was supposed to be the winning team. I wasn’t allowed to be the golden boy because that was the role for his young nephew. He wanted me to fail so that young Sam could look good. I was supposed to be useless. When I had that info—what I was supposed to be doing—I could work effectively with it. You’ve got to know what you’re supposed to be doing.
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    WHAT’S YOUR PRIORITY? WHAT’S THE END POINT? WHAT’S THE GOAL?
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Chapter 43. Know What You Are Actually Doing

    So what are you doing? Important but overlooked rule, this one. Go on, answer the question, what are you doing?
    To answer this you need to have long- and short-term plans form-ulated. If you haven’t got a plan, you don’t have a map. If you don’t have a map, you’ll never find the treasure. In Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, when someone questions his ability to sail his ship with only two men, Johnny Depp needs no other answer than he’s Captain Jack Sparrow. “Savvy?” If you know who you are and where you are going, you are indeed a pirate and clearly so.
    So, are you laying the groundwork for a future promotion? Marking time until you decide what to do? Counting down the days until you retire? Collecting information so you can go to a rival and use it profitably? Waiting to be head-hunted? Learning more about the industry so that you can make a lateral move? Enjoying yourself and having a ball? Doing a hatchet job for the management and making one-third of the workforce redundant? * Trying hard to be noticed by senior management? Working hard just to do a good job and stay ahead of the game? Building a social network to have fun with? Stealing ideas, resources, staff, and machinery to start your own rival business. (Oh, I’ve seen this done, and a very successful job they made of it, too—they knew exactly what they were actually doing.)
    * I knew a general manager of a big engineering firm who was brought in to do exactly that—and the workforce knew it. His first mass meeting was greeted with boos and catcalls. He stood his ground and just said, “I am not the enemy here. The enemy is the downturn in business. I am not the enemy so don’t shout at me.” Worked like a charm.
    There are no right and wrong answers. Well, actually