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www.HartfordBusiness.com December 12, 2016 • Hartford Business Journal 37 BIZ BOOKS Understanding the leadership genius of Julius Caesar "T he Leadership Genius of Julius Caesar — Modern Lessons from the Man Who Built an Empire" by Phillip Barlag (Berret-Koehler Pub- lishers, $24.95). Most books written about Caesar were written by historians and focused on his accomplishments. Barlag delves into the "how" of the accomplish- ments by identifying his leadership skills — many of which are topics of today's business books. The major leadership lesson: Caesar used power, not force, to lead. He understood that power comes from the ability to motivate others by focusing on a common goal. In wartime, he lived that goal by marching beside his troops, eating in their mess hall and listening to their feedback, and talk of what they planned to do when the cam- paign ended. He called his troops comrades to remind them that he was one of them. They chose to follow him because they respected him and trusted him to keep his word. At the Battle of Munda, his army was tired and wanted to rest before engaging the enemy again. Caesar drew his sword and raced up the hill alone — but not for long. His troops saw he was leading from the front, and raced after him. Putting his life on the line showed his commitment to victory. Leading from the front becomes critically important when tough decisions have to be made. In times of peace, Caesar worked across the aisle and reminded political opponents that they were citizens of Rome and owed a responsibility to all Romans. He spoke of mutual benefit. This increased their interest in working with him. We all know how it ended. His opponents became jeal- ous as Caesar's popularity and power grew. They feared that, as emperor, he would resort to force to rule. They clearly didn't understand the man's motivation. • • • "Hard-Won Wisdom — True Stories from the Management Trenches" by Jathan Janove (AMACOM, $17.95). People problems and problem people are obstacles on productivity's path. Dealing with these issues often takes an inordinate amount of a manager's time and affects staff cohesion. Based upon Janove's stories, here are some of the ways management can save time (and face) and ensure people are on the same page: Use "star profiles" when selecting people for promotion. Think beyond the job description (i.e. the tasks) and focus on the core behaviors required to succeed in a position. Define suc- cess in four or five sentences for each position; your "star profile" should include the soft skills needed to work with others. Why? Approach to teamwork/team-building, willingness to listen and communications style heavily influence their ability to produce results. Janove makes this point with the story of Morris, a former military officer, who excelled at his non-supervisory job. When the title of acting department supervisor was added, Morris relied on his military command- and-control background to manage his staff. Subordinates complained. Productivity and morale plummeted. When counseled by upper manage- ment and offered leadership training, Morris stuck to his guns. The blame wasn't all Morris'; management set him up to fail by not taking the soft skills required of his new position into account. "To end a feud, apply the 'Triple Two' " to deal with conflicts. Rather than stepping in as a manager, which may be viewed as tak- ing sides, encourage the parties to answer three job-interaction questions that require two responses each: 1. "What are two things I should start doing? 2. "What are two things I should stop doing? What are two things I should continue to do?" The Triple Two allows the parties to air their differences and discuss their per- spectives in terms of job context. More often than not, the parties will see that finding a common ground will increase their productivity. In addition to advice on employee selection and con- flict resolution, Janove covers employee engagement, perfor- mance management, harass- ment/bullying and stopping problems before they start. n Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer. Jim Pawlak TALKING POINTS Why doing a good job won't get you anywhere By John Graham I f you think doing a good job is what it takes to get to the head of the pack, you're naïve, confused, delusional or all three. Take your pick. And here's why. Doing a good job is the starting point, the baseline. It's what's expected. There are plenty of people doing a good, even a great job. But they're dead in the water. They aren't going anywhere, other than out the door in the next restructure. Tough words, but they don't need to be the last words. Here's what to do: 1. Drop the idea that doing a good job is good enough. 2. Next, stop dwelling on what your company should do for you. It will only make you angry, resentful and useless. 3. Now that you're rid of the junk that's in your way, focus on getting to the head of the pack. 4. Develop a skillset for solving problems, where you will get attention. Skill 1. Make stuff make sense. Very little of what passes as communication in business — emails, letters, memos, reports, webpages, proposals, ads or presentations — makes sense to those who can benefit from their message. Or, to put it bluntly, very few people make sense even with 140 characters. What causes this incredible communica- tion failure that ends in massive misunder- standing, wastes time and money, crushes productivity, and drives customers bonkers? The answer is that most messaging starts with everyone asking, "Will what I'm say- ing pass the boss test?" And it doesn't take long to learn what's acceptable and what isn't. When people think and write this way, what comes out is gobbledygook, mealy- mouthed nonsense. Now, the good news. If you rid your mind of what's acceptable, you can make sense to your audience by moving the focus to them — whether they're co-workers, vendors, or those you want to do business with. Picture these people looking over your shoulder. Ask yourself what they want to hear. Skill 2. Get out of yourself. Is this really a skill? You bet it is, although most people don't see it that way. They think if they take the right classes, get the right degrees, and have the right experience, they're all set. They can do any or all of that, but it won't be enough to get to the head of the pack. We beat up on Millennials for being too self-centered — obsessed with selfies and constant texting. Besides, we value talking to each other when dining out. Maybe we're just jealous and feel left behind, overrun, and out of place with these 79 million young adults. Could it be that we're the ones who feel entitled and expect accommodation just because we've been in line longer? We put the brakes on our future unless we get out of ourselves. Skill 3. Let your mind run wild. Even though such an idea is a treasonable offense in some companies, it's the mental engine that stimulates thinking, fosters dialogue, and most of all drives creativity. For example, letting the mind roam is the cure for "solution think," the disease that bedevils marketing and salespeople, in partic- ular. Their programs are always firm and over- flowing with unwavering certainty as to what customers want. And before long, they're gone. What's helpful is contrarian thinking that challenges what "sounds good" and what oth- ers want to hear. If that had happened at Sam- sung, someone might have said, "The Note 7 isn't ready for market." Would the outcome be different if minds could have run wild? Skill 4. Be a magnet for the tough jobs. Having spent decades taking on tough assign- ments across the world for AT&T, Randall Ste- phenson was chosen by CEO Edward Whita- cre Jr., as his successor. "This one looks easy," Stephenson said to Whitacre, who replied, "Why do you think I chose you?" If you want to get to the head of the pack be a magnet for tough, problematic jobs that need fixing, those that others run and hide from. Companies want people who want to make a difference, a contribution, not those who mark the years and the days on their calendar. Skill 5. Make yourself memorable. Doing a good job is like living in the shad- ows. You're just another invisible. To change that and start moving to the head of the pack, make yourself memorable. That's what one couple learned about mar- keting and sales when looking for a second home. The first agent was enthusiastic and lined up a couple of showings quickly, but nei- ther was of interest. Promising to get back to them with other properties, she went "offline." They contacted another agent, who asked questions and sends them a weekly eBulletin featuring an in-depth description of only one property that's based on their profile. Not long ago, the husband asked his wife, "What was the name of that first agent?" Thinking for a moment, she said, "I don't remember." Customers buy from those who make themselves memorable. n John Graham of GrahamComm is a mar- keting and sales strategy consultant and business writer. Contact him at jgraham@ grahamcomm.com. John Graham ▶ ▶ In times of peace, Caesar worked across the aisle and reminded political opponents that they were citizens of Rome and owed a responsibility to all Romans. He spoke of mutual benefit.