Important Things

A Future Manager Should Know

Really Important Things You Need to Know

Anne Faircloth

Much of what you must know to succeed in business these days is not easily learned in a book or classroom. Acquiring key business skills, such as perceiving and controlling emotions in oneself and others, is a subtler process. But much else of what you need is just meat-and-potatoes knowledge, things you can learn in a semester or less taking the right course. Here are eight learnable skills you need to advance in your career today.

Finance. Eat your spinach. Finance is at the core of so many successful companies that no CEO aspirant can afford to avoid schooling in it, even if it means mastering some math you haven’t encountered since high school. This will help you understand, among other things, how your company raises and allocates capital. It will also make clear why that new product your team has designed might not be launched, despite its sensational showing in test markets: The numbers indicate that most likely the returns on the item will never clear the hurdle rate that will cover the cost of capital it requires and deliver a profit as well.

Accounting. Now the broccoli. A dismaying number of managers don’t know how to read a balance sheet or a profit-and-loss statement, says Sheila McLean, president of the Association of Executive Search Consultants. So, sign up for a course in these fundamentals, as well as some more sophisticated ideas. Roberto Goizueta, former CEO of Coca-Cola, was trained as a chemical engineer, but it isn’t his understanding of how Coke’s precious formula is replicated billions of times that made him a hero to shareholders. It is his ability to work with such concepts as economic value added (EVA) and market value added (MVA) to measure value growth and wealth creation.

Computers. A course that will teach you the basics of word processing and spread sheets is essential. You can also take instructions in how to navigate the Internet. There’s an astounding amount of information out there in cyberspace that will give you an edge on competitors. A warning, however: Don’t become infatuated. Danger arises, says Jeffrey Sonnenfeld of Emory University’s Center for Leadership and Career Studies, when executives become so preoccupied with getting instant information on tiny aspects of their business that “they bcome entirely too short-term oriented.” Bernie Marcus, CEO of Home Depot, has a great sense of balance. Marcus is technologically savvy, yet he resists the temptation to track store sales figures minute by minute.

Marketing. This is where you will learn how to target a market, capitalize on brand equity, position a product, and use market research techniques. Even if your job is in finance or R & D or something else you think is remote from marketing, this knowledge will help keep you focused on what should never be far from your mind, no matter where you are in the company: the customer.

High-tech companies may be in particular jeopardy of drifting away from consumers. They are so avant-guard in their skills that they invent solutions to imaginary problems while forgetting what their customers really need in the workaday world. Netscape – maker of software for the Internet and astounding stock market performer – seems the sort of company that might fall victim to lofty thinking. But it looks as though Netscape might be too clever for the trap: John Tompson, who specializes in technology companies at outplacement firm Heidrick & Struggles, notes that Netscape’s board hired Jim Barksdale , formerly COO of FedEx, as CEO. Barksdale “brought the “it has to be there on time”philosophy from a delivery company to an information company,” says Tompson.

Communications. Learn how to talk the walk – and write it as well. You may know your stuff, but technical prowess won’t get you to the top unless you can express yourself in written and spoken words to a variety of audiences: customers, colleagues, analysts, journalists and many more. And when you can do that well, you might be in great demand. Rambling and endless after-dinner speeches are ample evidence that relatively few executives are able to instruct and entertain – or even understand what the audience is interested in. Larry Bossidy of AlliedSignal knows how to tailor his remarks to the crowd and how to wing it if the prepared speech doesn’t captivate the audience.

Outsourcing. This might seem a subject too narrow for a generalist. But it’s a good bet that in this era of tightening budgets and limited commitments, your company again and again faces the question of whether to hire a permanent staff for a new project, bring in temps, or have a subcontractor far away handle it. Sooner or later the question will wind up in your department. This course will help you evaluate the costs and contributions of insiders and outsiders and come up with the best mix. It will also help you avoid inflammatory combinations of permanent and temporary employees. Hewlett-Packard, for example, does not want temps without medical coverage sitting next to permanent employees, who do have medical plans. So H-P tries to hire temps from agencies that provide health and other benefits.

Team Building. This is the course in which you learn how to keep people working together, even when they don’t want to. For example, you are the leader of a cross-functional team that has to identify outmoded computers and give them to a local high school. It is hard for you to motivate team member Wilson because you have no authority to promote or fire him. The trick is to convince his line boss that nothing is more vital to the company at the moment than community relations. A course in team building might also instruct you in how to motivate people when there is less opportunity to reward them with bigger titles and salaries. General Electric has coped with that reality in part by broadening eligibility for stock options. GE used to offer options to 500 or so top managers. Since 1989 it has offered them to 21,000 employees.

Diversity. Take a course that will keep you and your company from violating equal-opportunity law. But the instruction ought to view affirmative action as something more than a downside risk. If you learn to work well in and lead a group that includes, say, ethnic minorities and handicapped workers, you may convince your superiors that you are one of the select few who can function brilliantly in a global marketplace that is ever more inclusive and complicated.

Fortune

Notes

meat-and-potato knowledge – основные, самые важные знания

eat your spinach – как известно, шпинат не очень вкусное блюдо, но очень полезное – в этом заключается смысл фразы

now the broccoli – тот же прием, чтобы подчеркнуть важность предмета, хотя он может не представлять большого интереса для изучающего его

to school in smth – обучать чему-либо

hurdle rate – пороговая ставка доходности: минимальная доходность, при которой проект принимается к реализации; она должна быть выше стоимости затрат на финансирование проекта; to clear the hurdle rate – достичь пороговой ставки доходности

to sign up for a course – записаться на курс лекций по (предмету)

how Coke’s precious formula is replicated billions of times – здесь: из каких химических элементов создается Кока-Кола (каков секретный рецепт напитка “Кока-Кола”, который воплощается миллиарды раз )

spread-sheet – электронная таблица

cyberspace – киберпространство

to target a market – произвести целевой отбор рынка

to capitalize on brand equity – извлечь выгоду из преимущeств бренда

lofty thinking – здесь: высокомерное отношение к потребителю

COO (Chief Operating Officer) – главный операционный директор, отвечающий за повседневные операции, текущую деятельность корпорации

to talk the walk – научиться доходчиво общаться с представителями любой социальной среды (walk of life)

rambling speech – бессвязная речь

to wing the speech – оживить речь

inflammatory combination –здесь: напряженные взаимоотношения

cross-functional team – многофункциональная команда, бригада

a line boss – непосредственный начальник

stock option – опцион на приобретение акций компании на льготных условиях ( в виде поощрения)

equal opportunity law = affirmative action – закон о равных правах для всех граждан при приеме на работу

more inclusive market – более емкий рынок

Be Different – And Get Ahead

Williamson Day

Some insight into why siccess in business, or anything else, is often more easily achieved by not following the traditional rules.

Do you find the textbook description of an up-and-coming executive? Do you put in overtime, take work home, and stick to your desk? Are you fashionable? Do you think pojects through, and jump at new responsibilities?

Well, then, perhaps you are on the way out – not up! Surprising as it may seem, some business practices are being reappraised. Read these nonconformist management rules and measure yourself against them:

Never work overtime.

Staying at your desk beyond normal working hours – if habitual – is poor management of time. It is not evidence that you have mastered your job. On the contrary, it may indicate you have failed to grasp the efficient way to get the job done. A department manager of a large manufacturer was known for his long hours. Top management called him “our good right arm”, but admitted privately that his efficiency was low. He did not produce enough – quickly enough – to give management confidence in him. Other men, who had their jobs done by day’s end, were held in higher regard.

Exception: On occasions, working overtime is necessary, especially when a project arises unexpectedly and carries an inflexible deadline.

The papers-in-the-briefcase-to-take-home syndrome works against you more than it works for you. It gives you the rationale to postpone decisions and important reading. Harvard Business School has always given its students more reading than they could digest, to force selective reading. Managers who cannot discard irrelevant material haven’t mastered one of the fundamental practices of management.

Exception: On rare occasions, perhaps the night before you brief a senior executive, you may need to review last-minute intelligence, but nothing less important justifies the crammed briefcase.

Never stay at you desk all day.

The Bob Cratchits of business passed with Charles Dickens. Managers who arrive at their desks at 9 a.m. and sit there until 5 p.m. are likely to be desk-oriented, not action-oriented. Creative executives know that time away from the desk is essential – not only to refresh acquaintanceships but to participate in new experiences. The key is using time away from your desk thoughtfully. One manager – a liasion with a government agency – started two mornings each week with a visit to the city’s federal building. He found that 20 minutes with his government counterparts was worth 60 minutes spent sitting in his office.

Never be fashionable.

One of the less productive characteristics of business is playing follow the leader. When the chairman of one large firm let his hair grow and sported granny glasses, vice presidents outdid temselves trying to imitate him. Being fashionable in dress is probably harmless, but being fashionable in thought can work to a manager’s detriment. In business, as in life, being oneself – within the framework of the company – is essential to getting ahead. Top executives are there because they take well-reasoned departures, not because they play it safe. Creativity, conviction and courage are sometimes unfashionable at the time they surface, yet they separate those who believe in themselves from those who do not.

Exception: experience shouldn’t be discarded lightly; some procedures are so effective that they should be followed scrupulously.

Never think the project through to its last detail.

The manager who dots every ”i” and crosses every “t” often is not using his time well. Few projects can be planned with complete precision, and the sound manager recognizes that a number of options must be dealt with at crucial stages of any project. His job is to keep those projects open, and ensure that his team is prepared to exercise them.

Exception: Certain operations require strict thinking through, particularly where variables are controlled. Yet, even here, proceeding step-by-step and assessing your position at each plateau can be measurably profitable.

Never take on responsibility just to show you’re willing.

Every fresh-from-college business major rightly seeks responsibility, recognition and remuneration in that order. But undertaking new responsibility without qualifying oneself for it can do more harm than good. Doing a superior job on selected items wins plaudits faster than doing a half-baked job on many.

Exception: In fields in which qualified men are scarce, executives with nothing more than willingness sometimes volunteer. But they make certain that management takes the gamble with them and expects a fall or two before success comes.

In short, a manager who is different is not out of bounds. More often he is a manager who sees a course clearly and pursues it. Abraham Lincoln, who managed the federal establishment during difficult days, talked a good deal about a common man. But in looking for political and military leaders, he turned to those who were, in every way, demonstrably uncommon.

Notes

up-and-coming – многообещающий

to hold in high regard – высоко ценить

Bob Cratchit – персонаж Ч.Диккенса из рассказа “A Christmas Carol”: несчастный, бесправный чиновник

to let one’s hair grow – отпустить длинные волосы

to sport granny glasses – щеголять в очках в тонкой оправе (по моде того времени)

departure – отступление, отклонение (от принятой нормы)

creativity, conviction and courage; responsibility, recognition and remuneration – примеры аллитерации (все слова начинаются с одной и той же буквы): литературный прием, используемый для звуковой выразительности

to dot the “i”s and to cross the “t”s = ставить точки над “i” - до мелочей продумывать и разрабатывать проект

plateau – прекращение роста, развития; здесь: завершение какого-либо этапа работы

major – основной предмет специализации в колледже; to major in business – специализироваться по бизнесу ( близкое по значению к МБДА – business administration)

takes the gamble with them – (осознанно) идет на риск вместе в ними

is not out of bounds – не запрещается, не нарушает общепринятые правила

What You Shouldn’t Ask in a Job Interview

The winning strategy for asking questions during an interview comes from a former director of HR in El Cerrito, California. “Questions should focus on your capacity to do the job, your motivation to do the job and how you will fit into the corporate culture. A few quesitons that impress me: What gains respect in this company more than anything else? What is the fatal error that someone can make in this job? What did the incumbent need to learn, but did not fully appreciate?”

Here are some of the things that you should-and-shouldn’t-say in the process of looking for a job:

1. What is the salary? Okay, it’s the one thing you really want to know. But asking about salary too early in the process will create the impression that you’re more interested in money than in getting the job done. Once the job is offered to you there will be plenty of time to negotiate your salary.

2. How much vacation and sick leave would I get? Interviewers may think you’re more focused on perks than in giving the company its money’s worth. Better to get this information by asking about employee benefits in general than about the specific benefits that come with the job.

3. How big an office would I have? This is another question that can lead the interviewer to think that you’re more interested in the icing than you are in the cake. If you’re dying to see the new digs, ask for a tour.

4. When would I be promoted? This question is apt to sound self-serving, as if you’re asking for a guarantee. Instead, ask about the company’s “opportunities for advancement.” That puts a positive spin on the question and almost always elicits the same information.

5. Negative questions. Perhaps you’ve heard that the company is anticipating layoffs, or that it’s losing market share. Don’t ask about those situations before the job is offered! Once again you’ll have time to discuss them later after an offer has been made. Before then, negative questions may make the interviewer uncomfortable or paint you as a troublemaker.

The Most Important Question in an Interview

A Hot Tip from Nick Corcodilo’s “Ask the Headhunter”

Career books fall all over one another claiming they can tell you what the Top Ten Interview Questions are. There is just one question that matters in a job interview, and proof of its power lies in the fact that it’s the most important question whether you’re the employer or candidate.

As a job hunter, the most powerful question you can ask the manager is: ”Would you like me to take a few minutes at your whiteboard to explain what I think are the challenges and problems you’re facing in your business today, and then show you how I would tackle them to make your department more profitable?”

As an employer, the most powerful question you can ask a candidate is: “Would you please go to the whiteboard and lay out the problems and challenges my business faces today, and then demonstrate how you’re going to do this job to address those p’s& c’s profitably?”

Notes

rule of thumb – приближенный метод

icing – глазурь на пироге, здесь: дополнительные блага, которые предоставляет компания

incumbent – пребывающий в должности

whiteboard – доска с ватманом для записей, расчетов и т.п.

p’s & c’s – problems and challenges

A Good First Impression

Subtle factors influence you from the moment you meet someone in business

Steve Bills

When the candidate walked in the door for the job interview, Jordan Duggan felt a twinge. On the phone, the job applicant had sounded like a 35-year-old pofessional, smooth and mature. “He gave a fantastic phone interview. His portfolio was immaculate,” recalled Duggan, the creative director of Indicium Design, a small presentation-production house in Raleigh, N.C. “When I saw him, he was like a 25-year-old used car salesman.”

Still, he seemed knowledgeable about the software that the company used to generate its interactive presentations for sales people and the Web, and such professionals are hard to find. Said Duggan: “If he truly was the person he was claiming to be, I was willing to take a risk.”

Alas, within a few days, the new employee’s technical shortcomings soon became apparent, and a subsequent background check showed that the man was not responsible for all the good projects he took credit for. He was soon gone from the company.

“We’ve since changed our policies, because of this individual,” Duggan said. Background checks are more intensive, and Indicium now asks applicants to do a live demonstration of their skills with presentation software such as Flash. “It was definitely a learning experience.”

Yes, you can fake it in a job interview setting, and, yes, it might even work to get you the job. But as phsychologists, sociologists and personnel experts point out, the relationships between people are tremendously complex, involving a great number of assumptions based on insufficient information.

People seem to have an uncanny knack of sizing up those they meet in an instantaneous flash of recognition. The job candidates are rated on a range of qualities including intelligence, competence, interpersonal warmth, politeness.

It is commonly accepted that people who are in rapport will adopt similar body language – fold their arms or legs the same way, employ similar gestures, pick up one another’s voice mannerisms.

Men tend to have a firmer handshake than women on average, but women who have a firm handshake make as good an impression as men. Practitioners in the personnel field say other indicators are more important. What David Russo, executive vice president of BuiltNet, a business-to-business Web site serving the construction industry , looks for is a sense of enthusiasm: “I like to see somebody who sits on the front of the chair when they’re talking about something they care about.”

He recalled the advice of an old mentor, who told him, “When you’re talking to somebody, look for the light behind their eyes.” He added, “Those are the people you want working for you, the people you want developing your software and building your products.”

Such candidates can be hard to find. More organizations are doing background checks and resume checks to guard against job seekers who try “getting by with guile rather than application of talent.”

Notes

portfolio – папка с образцами работ ( людей творческих специальностей)

to be in rapport with – в согласии, при взаимном понимании

vice – тиски

to get by by guile – “ проскочить”, получить работу обманным путем

to apply for a job – обратиться (в компанию) по поводу найма на работу; a job applicant (a job seeker, a job candidate) – претендент на получение работы (в компании)

to do background check – наводить справки о ком-либо (о происхождении, общественном и моральном облике, связях и окружении, мнение о человеке с прежней работы)

fake - подлог, фальшивка

Как правильно устраиваться на работу

Первое впечатление, как известно, во многом определяет дальнейшие взаимоотношения. Если же речь идет о приеме на работу, то столь значимое для работодателя первое впечатление производят листки бумаги – анкета и автобиография потенциального сотрудника. Чтобы правильно заполнить их, неплохо было бы воспользоваться советами американского специалиста Н.Бэкстера.

• Получая анкету для заполнения, попросите две копии. Если это невозможно, сделайте несколько ксерокопий чистого бланка. Они понадобятся вам в качестве черновика, чтобы окончательный вариант анкеты был заполнен безукоризненно, без ошибок и опечаток. Заполнять анкету лучше на пишущей машинке. Это облегчит восприятие ее содержания.

• Не оставляйте незаполненной ни одну графу. Если вопросы не имеют к вам отношения, пишите «нет», «не имеется», «не был» и так далее. Это даст понять, что вы не пропустили, сознательно или непреднамеренно, ни одного вопроса.

• Если некоторые вопросы касаются информации, которую вам не хотелось бы разглашать (например, о наличии судимостей), рекомендуется все же писать правду. Подробные данные легко проверить, и в этом случае их сокрытие будет расцениваться не в вашу пользу. Постарайтесь зафиксировать в анкете ценную информацию, касающуюся вашей квалификации, причем не только по специальности, но и в других областях (умение пользоваться компьютером, факсом и т.д.).

• Если нанимающая организация, изучив анкету, проявила интерес к вашей персоне, как правило, следует приглашение на собеседование. Готовясь к нему, необходимо избрать стратегию поведения. Как подчеркивает Н.Бэкстер, в центре ваших вопросов и ответов на первом собеседовании должна быть фирма или организация, в которую вы устраиваетесь, а не то, сколько она вам будет платить.

• Потенциального работодателя, как правило, интересует определенный круг сведений о нанимаемом. Ниже приводятся самые распространенные вопросы, с ответов на них необходимо начинать подготовку к собеседованию.

• Какое отношение ваше образование и опыт профессиональной деятельности имеют к данной работе?

• Почему вы хотели бы работать именно по этой профессии?

• Что вы знаете об этой организации и об этой работе?

• Что вы будете делать в случае возникновения на вашем рабочем месте какой-либо критической ситуации?

• Каковы ваши сильные и слабые стороны?

• Какую работу вы любите (не любите) делать больше всего?

• Какого рода достижения доставляют вам наибольшее удовольствие?

Когда вопросы к вам будут исчерпаны, вам предоставят возможность (или вы сами о ней попросите) задать вопросы о вашей потенциальной работе. В первую очередь они должны касаться следующих моментов:

• Как примерно будет протекать мой рабочий день?

• Кто будет моим непосредственным начальником и будут ли у меня самого подчиненные? Можно ли с ними встретиться?

• Какие программы обучения и подготовки предоставляются работодателем? Какие имеются возможности для служебного и профессионального роста?

• Почему это место оставил прежний работник и чем он сейчас занимается?

Размер жалования рекомендуется оговаривать уже после того, как данная работа будет вам предложена.

Don’t just read the news, understand it

Appendix

Extracts from the “Key Words in Business”

by Bill Mascull

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