Great Management Moments
So I was pontificating again the other day about management styles and thought I ought to start writing that Management Guru book that I have inside. Can't decide between calling it "The ARSE Management Book" (ARSE - obviously standing for Anticipate, Rehearse, Speculate, Execute - the secret of being in control) or else "Pig Farming Secrets for Senior Management". Things like it is easier to move a pig with a bucket of food than to push it; If you beat a pig too often it may turn and bite you; If you let the pig think it is deciding where to go it will go there; And pigs know when it is time for market because the farmer stops tickling them behind the ears a week or so beforehand... Your help in deciding this would be welcome.
And in the hope of drumming up some advance orders let me tell you of one of my triumphs:
In a previous life I was presenting on why our fledgling company was positioned to take the world by storm, we had some competitors in Europe but we had identified them and we had mapped out the market sectors where we could beat them, and once we had established a toehold we could surround them and beat them. We also didn't have to worry about the American competition because they weren't going to turn up for a couple of years and we could then sell ourselves to them, make a lot of money and retire happy.
Knowing my potential investors I spiced the presentation with this map, subtly changed to show competitors names and market sectors.
Bigger
Went down well, great visual imagery illustrated the plan. We got the first investment. The map took pride of place in the office. So with our new money we invited over the potential big client, the one we had to win to set the rest of the plan rolling. They liked our technical stuff, the figures stacked up but the meeting was sticky and we never got the deal. It was only after they left to catch the flight back to Berlin that I noticed the map behind my head. Germans - no sense of humour.....