HARVARD BUSINESS ESSENTIALS: MANAGER’S TOOLKIT

HARVARD BUSINESS ESSENTIALS: MANAGER’S TOOLKIT By Harvard Business School Dr. Bates

Part One: Learning the BasicsCh. 1: Setting Goals That Others Will Pursue • I. GOAL SETTING • A. Process for Defining Targets to Achieve • Commits to outcomes you can accomplish • Focuses limited resources • Establishes time limits • Sets course of action • B. Manager is Responsible for Setting Goals Dr. Bates

II. BEGIN WITH STRATEGY • A. Goals Emerge From Strategy • Enterprise goal at top • Unit goals serve enterprise goal • Individual goals serve unit goals and enterprise goals • B. Cascading Goals • Shows how each unit’s goals contribute to organization • Shows how individual’s goals contribute to organization • C. Aligns Organization’s Activities to Same Goal Dr. Bates

III. TOP-DOWN OR BOTTOM-UP? • A. Top-Down Goal Setting • Management sets broad goals • Employee is assigned objectives aligned with broad goals • Most appropriate • Rank and file employees need close supervision • Employees aren’t familiar with unit or company goals • B. Bottom-Up Goal Setting • Employees develop own goals • Manager integrates them into broad goals • Most appropriate • Employees are self-directed: clearly understandstrategy • Know customer needs • Understand own roles in strategy Dr. Bates

C. Goal Setting Most Effective When Employees Involved • Increases buy-in • Ensures objectives are understood • Fosters accountability • D. Most times, Company Uses Both Processes • Management sets goals after negotiation with employees • Employees do not have free-hand to set goals • IV. CHARACTERISTCS OF EFFECTIVE GOALS • Recognized by everyone as important • Clear, written down, specific • Measurable; with time limits • Aligned with organization strategy • Achievable • Supported by rewards Dr. Bates

B. Two Mistakes to Avoid • Be sure to create performance metrics • Specific objectives • Can be output/machine, errors/employee, time-to-market • Be sure to align goals and rewards • Rewarded behavior gets done • Unrewarded behavior is not done • V. DEVELOPING UNIT GOALS • A. Choosing Goals • Sort through many goals • Identify those • Achievable • Linked to organization goals • Create the most value Dr. Bates

B. Review every 6 or 12 months • Use team; Brainstorm • Select from brainstorming list • What has to be accomplished • Standards? • Productivity and efficiency improvement • Customer expectations • Changes in customers • C. High Goals vs. Low Goals • High Goals • Risk, unhappy subordinates, higher chances of failure • Low Goals • Higher chance of success, subordinates happy, not good for you or organization • Set challenging goals, communicate with subordinates • Make sure they see personal benefit Dr. Bates

VI. PRIORITIZING GOALS • A. Differentiate Between Critical and Other Goals • Select criteria • Goals your firm values most • Greatest impact on performance • Most challenging • Team best situated to tackle • B. Process of Prioritizing • Rank goals • A: high value • B: medium value • C: little value • Eliminate C goals • Re-rank B goals: some go to A, rest C – eliminate • Re-rank A goals according to importance Dr. Bates

VII. YOUR GOALS AS MANAGER • A. Individual Goals • Unit goals requiring your skills • Cannot delegate • Your contribution to team • Handed to you by your boss • B. May be on Task Force • May be unrelated to your unit • C. Work with Your Own Manager • Agree on goals • Shared understanding of expected outputs • Get support and training you need • Make sure your team understands your goals Dr. Bates

VIII. 4 STEPS TO ACCOMPLISHING GOALS • A. Break Down into Specific Tasks • Sequence tasks • Assign people to tasks • B. Plan Execution of Tasks • Use Gantt chart to diagram parts of whole job • Shows order of tasks • Shows start and end times • Shows tasks have to be finished before another starts • Some tasks work in parallel to other tasks • C. Gather Necessary Resources • D. Execute Your Plan • “First, plan your day – then work your plan.” Dr. Bates

IX. OBSTACLES TO SUCCESS • A. Identify Serious Hurdles • Think of possible solutions • Break up task into smaller pieces • Boost motivation by reminding employees of rewards • B. Don’t Make Yourself an Obstacle to Success • Don’t think employees are doing best • Don’t focus on procedures instead of results • Don’t frame ambiguous goals in vague terms • X. KEEPING ON TRACK • A. Always Know Where Firm is Relative to Goals • Update people regularly • Face problems; brainstorm • Celebrate milestones Dr. Bates

XI. PERIODIC REVIEW • A. Review Goals Periodically • Goals still realistic? • Goals still timely? • Goals still important? • B. If Organization or Environment Changes, Change • John Maynard Keynes: “When the facts change, I change.” • XII. After-Action Review • A. Celebrate Success, Recognize People • Motivates employees • B. Review Your Plan and execution Dr. Bates

C. What Worked and What Didn’t? • D. Achieve payoff? • E. Do Differently? • F. Have Sufficient Resources? • G. Lessons Learned? • XIII. SUMMING UP • Goals emerge from strategy • Top-down or bottom up • Effective goals: important, clear, specific, measurable, timed, aligned with strategy, achievable, rewarded • Prioritize • 4-step action plan • Be results oriented • Celebrate; lessons learned Dr. Bates

GOAL ALIGNMENT Dr. Bates

GANTT CHART EXAMPLE Dr. Bates

HARVARD BUSINESS ESSENTIALS: MANAGER’S TOOLKIT