Harvard Tips of the Day – Week in Review

While we recommend you subscribe to Harvard’s Management Tip of the Day, this is a weekly list of what we feel are the most appropriate tips.

• 3 Things to Look for When Hiring People Who Disagree With You

Strength of ideas. Leaders need alternate views based on facts and data. Contrary ideas should be well thought-out and put in context of what’s best for all stakeholders.

Ambition. Someone who disagrees with you shouldn’t just be there to stir the pot. Look for someone who is interested in moving up in the organization and is in for the long haul.

Track record. Willingness to disagree is not enough. Be sure that the person’s track record shows an ability to follow through on ideas and get things done.

• Accept Your Lame Duck-ness

When leaders are ready to move on, they may hesitate to announce their plans because they’re afraid of becoming lame ducks. What’s the best way to deal with being a lame duck? Accept it. Don’t shed any tears over your loss of power. Instead, put all of your energy into supporting your successor.

• 3 Survival Lessons from Small Businesses

Agility. Small businesses have a great advantage in a fast-changing world: they adapt quickly. Without layers of bureaucracy slowing them down, small businesses can act fast to changing circumstances.

Rapid testing and refining. Social media and online marketing tools allow even the smallest of businesses to do real-time market testing. They can also engage customers and build a community around their business.

Planning. Plans are often outdated as soon as they come out of the printer. Small businesses tend to focus more on planning and less on plans. They watch their surroundings and act accordingly.

• 5 Steps to Defusing Discord on Your Team

Diagnose the root cause. What people are seemingly disagreeing over is likely not the real reason for the conflict. Often the problem is the result of something that happened long ago. Find the underlying cause first.

Don’t take sides. As the leader, taking sides will only deepen the conflict and feed resentment.

Defuse the conflict. Make clear that cooperation in the solution is mandatory and that grudges will not be tolerated.

Find common ground. Focus team members on what they have in common and what they want and need to achieve together.

Follow through. Your work isn’t over yet. Continue to monitor the situation and address any residual issues promptly.

Harvard Tips of the Day – Week in Review

While we recommend you subscribe to Harvard’s Management Tip of the Day, this is a weekly list of what we feel are the most appropriate tips.

• 3 Tips for Finding Your Company’s Inner Self

1. Find your company’s purpose. Don’t focus too much on spreadsheets and data. Try to figure out what your company stands for. Most great and adaptable companies have a purpose that is larger than their products.
2. Don’t (necessarily) mess with the business model. Struggling companies often try to revamp their business models. If your customers still have a need for the business you’re in, you may only need to commit to your business model rather than reinvent it.
3. Focus on quality growth. Companies that grow for the sake of growth rarely survive a downturn. Growth should be driven by quality, not quantity.

• Leadership in Six Words or Less

Clare Booth Luce once told President Kennedy that “a great man is one sentence.” It may feel impossible to sum up your accomplishments in a handful of words but it’s a good exercise in self-reflection. Ask yourself what you want to be remembered for, whether you left the organization or the world better than you found it, and how you influenced others. This exercise can guide your decisions about what you want to achieve and help you understand more clearly what work means to you.

• React to the Future, Not the Past

When someone yells at you, your gut reaction may be to yell back. But following your gut can get you in trouble, and in this case, may result in a damaged relationship. Instead, try responding to the outcome. When an unsettling event happens, pause and ask yourself: what is the outcome I want? Instead of reacting to the event, act in accordance with your desired outcome. The person who yelled at you: do you want an improved relationship with him or do you want to make him feel as bad as you do? If it’s the latter, go ahead and yell back. If it’s the former, empathize with his anger and respond to the underlying issue in a calm manner.

• 3 Tips for Effective Negotiations

Negotiations are a tough task to face and an even tougher one to master. Here are three tips for making your next negotiation go in your favor:
1. Do your homework. Spend time before the negotiation understanding the other side’s interests and position in relation to yours. Try to see things from their angle.
2. Don’t negotiate against yourself. Stick to your initial position long enough to find out what is important to the other side. Don’t give in before you have enough information.
3. Let the other side walk. Make the offer you want and let the other side walk if need be. Don’t low ball or be unnecessarily aggressive: just be honest, straightforward, and firm about what you’re willing to do.

• Leave the Funny Out of Email

Anyone who has sent a humorous email that has confused — or worse, offended — someone knows the danger of trying to be funny in an email. Email does not convey tone. How your message sounds to you when you type it has no relation to how the reader will interpret it. Keep business email straightforward. Pointing out that something’s funny by using an emoticon can appear juvenile. If you need to share your irresistible sense of humor, save it for phone calls or in-person meetings where tone can be more easily understood.

This Economy With the economy in the state it’s in, encouraging your employees to think positively may make you look foolish and insensitive. Yet, focusing your employees on what they can do rather than what they cannot do will lead to better attitudes and results. Here are three ways to promote positivity in your people:

• Treat employees as contributors, not costs. Emphasize each employee’s role in contributing to the business. The minute you start talking about people as costs, negativity will take over.
• Never sugarcoat reality. Don’t hold back information. Talk frankly with employees about the economic realities your company is facing, while you also explain what they can do to help.
• Challenge your people. Slow economies provide time to reflect on and re-think your business. Ask your people to come up with ideas for improving processes, systems, and products.

Harvard Tips of the Day – Week in Review

While we recommend you subscribe to Harvard’s Management Tip of the Day, this is a weekly list of what we feel are the most appropriate tips.

• Don’t Put Out the Fire, Let it Burn:
  • While painful, recessions ‘seem’ to be part of the life-cycle of every economy. Don’t fight them but but prepare to use them as an opportunity to become more agile and resilient.
• Reinvent Your R&D for Emerging Markets:
  • Now is the time to figure out how entice tomorrow’s markets like China and Brazil by using R&D to address societal needs that affect the masses who will soon be dictating market direction.
• Measure Inputs, Not Just Results:
  • Don’t rely solely on financial metrics and let the analysts run you business. Influence the inputs that drive those results and stay ahead of the curve.
• Think Green to Fight the Next Recession:
  • While the current one is not quite over, look at what companies are doing to survive and take lesson for the next round. Some companies are excelling through this economy, figured out which ones those are yet?
• Before You Call It “New and Improved,” Be Sure It Really Is:
  • Stop wearing out the meaning of this phrase, before using it make sure it’s something customers want and evaluate new innovations through their eyes, not your efficiency consultant.