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Executive Times |
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2008 Book Reviews |
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Doing
What Matters: How to Get Results That Make a Difference - The Revolutionary
Old-School Approach by James M. Kilts |
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Rating: |
**** |
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(Highly Recommended) |
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Click
on title or picture to buy from amazon.com |
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Effectiveness Former
Gillette CEO James M. Kilts shares his practical and disciplined approach to
management in his book Doing
What Matters: How to Get Results That Make a Difference - The Revolutionary
Old-School Approach. Kilts succeeded at corporate transformation while at
General Foods, Kraft, Nabisco and Gillette. He fills the pages of this book
with stories and examples of paying attention to the important things. Here’s
an excerpt, from
Chapter 8, “Leadership Process Matters,” pp. 162-4: Agreeing
on the Numbers The
recollections about the initial off-site meeting by Ned Guillet, then our
number two in our human resources department, tell a lot. "Everyone on the Operating
Committee had received a short note from Jim with instructions and templates
about preparing annual objectives and quarterly priorities for the meeting. "The first guy to get up
was Peter Hoffman, president of the Blades & Razors Business Unit. He
lays out his current market share for North American blades and razors
business as he presents his annual objectives and quarterly priorities. As he
starts talking about specific plans and activities for the quarter, Jim would
say, `OK, not bad, but I'd like it a little more measurable. Otherwise, how
am I going to know how to score that?' "Peter said Blades &
Razors was developing world-class advertising. Jim then asked, `What does
world-class advertising look like? How will I know it's world class? What
tests will you be using? What scores are you shooting for?' "Jim
was asking questions to make sure that what we were saying, we were going to
do, and it could actually be measured in some way. It was all nice and
polite, but it was hard not to get the drift." No
More Two Numbers "Next
up was Joe Dooley, head of our North American Commercial Operations. Joe puts
up his slide showing the North American market share for blades and razors.
And Jim says, `Wait, stop. A few minutes ago, Peter said market share for
North America was going to be 71.1 percent for the quarter. I'm looking at
your number saying it's going to be 69.9 percent. How come we have two
numbers if it's the same geography? What's with the two numbers?'" Ned
said Joe Dooley gave a murky explanation that Commercial Operations looks at
the market differently than the Blades & Razors BU. "So Jim says,
`From now on, we are going to have one number. You guys agree on what that
number is and what data backs it up, but no more two numbers.' " According
to Ned, that was the start of everything. "The meeting was really a
calibration and alignment meeting as Jim interacted with each of his direct
reports. He did two things. First, he immediately spotted mismatches. 'If you
are going to do that this quarter, how come I'm not seeing where the support
is coming from? Why isn't it on the priorities of the people who have to
support you? Obviously, your peers on this Operating Committee don't know
you're about to do that. So, you've got to get aligned.’” "If
You Can't Measure It, It's Not Real" "Second thing was all about measurement. 'How will I measure your objective or priority?
Ned, you are going to improve employee morale. How will I know if you do it?
Do you have a survey? What's the metric? If the answer is nothing, then you
don't have a good objective.' " Ned concluded that the initial
meeting was all about "doing really fundamental things." "Jim
started to make the point about lack of alignment by showing obvious
mismatches in our priorities that we never knew existed. He showed that there
was no alignment; that we really had not consulted each other on objectives,
and that this meeting was a great way to help us get aligned. And he also
taught us the importance of measurements. Jim's bottom line was 'If you
can't measure it, it's not real.' We got the message." Ned was right. The initial
off-site, and several that followed, were difficult. If ever a company needed
leadership process and discipline, Gillette was the
prime
candidate. Yet there is no getting around the fact that good process with
lengthy quarterly meetings takes a lot of time. I devote a lot of time to it.
Prior to each quarterly off-site meeting, I spend at least one to two hours
with each of my direct reports. Several days prior to those meetings, the
managers submit detailed written self-assessments with scores on how they
performed. The meeting gives us the opportunity to agree or challenge
specifics in the performance assessment and on a final score for the quarter
or, in the case of annual objectives, for the year. I kept
being reminded of Peter Drucker’s The
Effective Executive as I read Doing
What Matters. All managers will find something worthwhile in this book,
and will be likely to incorporate something of Kilts’ approach in everyday
executive behavior. Steve
Hopkins, December 20, 2007 |
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Go to Executive Times Archives |
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The recommendation rating for
this book appeared in the January 2008 issue of Executive Times URL for this review: http://www.hopkinsandcompany.com/Books/Doing What Matters.htm For Reprint Permission,
Contact: Hopkins & Company, LLC • E-mail: books@hopkinsandcompany.com |
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