Ten commandments of management

What is the value of this book?

This book does not tell us how to manage successfully, but shares with us how to fail. Because the author believes that the reasons for success may be varied, but the reasons for failure are very similar. Therefore, success cannot be learned, and failure can be prevented.

This book is the only management classic jointly recommended by Bill Gates, Warren Buffett and Jack Welch.

What is the main content of this book?

1, the first commandment: don't want to take any risks.

The ancestors of Americans are adventurous people, so they can open up new land. Every time I think of my great-grandfather who smashed stones for a living, I feel that it is good to be able to sit in an office, and I am not afraid of losing it.

When everything in Coca-Cola works normally, I feel uncomfortable all over. I will wander around the company and ask the executives: Tell me, why is everything going well? Nothing to worry about?

Drucker said that an important task of the management is to take risks carefully by using the company's existing resources to ensure the company's sustainable operation in the future.

If you are in a comfortable situation, then you will have a great impulse to give up taking risks, which is sometimes too strong for you to resist. Once so, failure is not far away.

The second commandment: be rigid in thinking and go your own way.

Really stubborn people are not avoiding risks. They are not only unwilling to take risks to make changes or innovations, but also insist on their own methods, firmly believing that they have mastered the key to success, and feel that there is no need to explore other ways to succeed.

When Pepsi attacked Coca-Cola with bigger packaging, Coca-Cola's reaction was rigid thinking, going its own way and unwilling to change. So Pepsi seized the opportunity to catch up.

IBM neglected the popularity of personal computers; Ford used to offer only black cars; Montgomery Ward Company did not see the rapid economic development after World War II, did not make any new investment, and was soon surpassed by Sears Department Store. * * * and the steel company refused to accept the production of aluminum cans, thinking that aluminum cans were not strong. ...

If you want to ask for failure, stick to your point of view!

Flexibility is an important part of leadership, and it is a talent who transcends simple management ability, operational ability and technical ability. I believe that flexible people have the habit of judging the situation and thinking. Once the environment changes, they will quickly adapt to the new environment.

3. The third commandment: completely isolate yourself and close yourself.

Narcissism is so exciting. There was once a CEO who built himself a Taj Mahal at the company headquarters. Can you imagine a middle-level person reporting to the Taj Mahal? Just looking at the furnishings inside, he was too scared to speak. Once a person falls into a mirage, he is unwilling to "go downstairs" again. He just sits in other people's visions.

Unfortunately, the most successful business elites in history have one thing in common, that is, they can blend in with employees at all levels. Dwain Wallace, the founder of Cessna Aircraft Company, walked into the production workshop. He could not only name more than 3,000 employees, but also know some of their family affairs.

If you are only with a few confidants or executives every day, their task becomes to please you and give you an illusory sense of success.

During World War II, Churchill set up a special office whose only job was to report bad news to him. On the other hand, Hitler only listened to good news. He always thought that the Germans had the upper hand.

Arrogance or fear is the main reason for isolating yourself.

If employees don't want to come to you, you should try to get close to them, or you will make a stupid mistake.

4, the fourth commandment: made a mistake, refused to admit, neither humble nor humble.

The annual reports of many companies can be summarized as follows:

Don't admit that you made a mistake. If the situation is bad, cover it up as much as possible. Wait until the crisis breaks out in an all-round way, then look for reasons from the external environment and put the blame on the scapegoat.

Every CEO makes mistakes. The key is whether he can admit it quickly and make up for it soon. I intuitively rejected the proposal to invest 500 million dollars in East Germany, but I didn't expect the head of German business to resign. It turned out that he thought I didn't understand how big the revival market in East Germany was. We went to East Germany, and when we came back, I decided to increase the investment to 654.38 billion US dollars.

If you want to improve your failure probability, you can deny the fact that your judgment is not 100% accurate, and you can arrogantly think that others know nothing.

Therefore, if you want to stumble, be an arrogant leader who loves to put on airs.

5. The fifth commandment: only seek development and ignore business ethics.

In the final analysis, the last straw for all companies is trust.

The customer should believe that the products of the enterprise are as good as he promised, the investors should believe that the management of the company is capable, and the employees should believe that the management can fulfill the promise.

Many companies disguise themselves to please Wall Street. The capital market stimulates people's greed, and they like to make quick money through the capital market too much, which leads to more corruption and deception.

Another reason for the problem is the desire of company executives to become celebrities. This is also a common problem in modern society.

Remember Drucker's point of view:

In fact, there is no business ethics, only morality, and there is no fault in all aspects of your life and work. If you have different moral standards on different occasions, then you are not a businessman.

The sixth commandment: You don't think hard, but you know a little about what you should do.

We are tired of communicating with people, just like robots, constantly sending out streams of consciousness, creating more and more data streams, but no longer analyzing them. Few people will shut the door and turn off all the noisy equipment, sit still, reflect quietly and analyze the problem seriously.

If you take in a lot of information without thinking, there are three main problems:

Information shock syndrome, your brain will reach the limit of failure;

Undigested data will cover up the facts;

It is foolish and sometimes even dangerous not to take time to think.

"What really gets us into trouble is not what we don't know at all, but what we only know a little."

-Mark Twain

Seventh commandment: don't grasp it yourself, trust the experts completely.

When I was a child, I learned to buy cows. Uncle Harmon told me, "The key is to look at cows, not people." This sentence is branded in my mind, and now it is the same when dealing with investment banks and buying and selling companies.

This was the case when we decided to launch a new cola. A large number of experts have demonstrated the extraordinary charm of the new coke, and it seems that no one dares to pour cold water on the new coke. We decided to vigorously promote the new coke, which caused national complaints and even demonstrations, and I became the object of ridicule.

Experts are very dangerous animals. When you meet an expert who wants to quantify human behavior, you should be extra careful, because management is always a human matter.

Eighth commandment: the administrative style is prevalent and the team is bloated.

When I first went to work at Coca-Cola headquarters, the secretary began to cry because she couldn't get a few pencils. It turns out that if you want to get these pencils, you need to fill in the list and go through the process. The person filling out the form is on vacation again, and the same thing happened on the stapler, bookshelf and copier. She collapsed. I realize that bureaucracy is already very serious.

If we want to hinder progress, let administrative procedures dominate and promote bureaucracy. Because bureaucrats not only do nothing themselves, but also hinder others from carrying out their work. They will do their best to protect their land, prevent the effective communication of information, and destroy what could have been done for you, so that their position will be consolidated.

The turnover of most excellent employees is related to bureaucracy. The cost of recruiting and training a middle-level cadre is at least twice his annual salary.

In 2007, Berkshire Hathaway owned 76 companies, with more than 232,000 employees and an annual income of more than 654.38+08 billion US dollars, but the company headquarters only had 654.38+09 employees. Even so, Warren Buffett complains that corporate bureaucracy is too common.

9 Ninth Commandment: Misinformation and poor communication.

In Las Vegas, if the casino owner sees that the cash on the table doesn't disappear soon, the casino manager will be fired because the casino owner doesn't want gamblers to think of real money when gambling. They think it's not $50, but a small chip.

Many people in the enterprise have no concept of money, just a string of zero numbers. Fuzzy numbers and fuzzy information will make employees feel that they can make money no matter what they do. The company should have a decent annual meeting.

If you miss the pass, the responsibility should be on the passer, because he has communication problems with his teammates. So there must be clear and accurate information transmission within the team.

10 the tenth commandment: psychological fear of the future, with strong pessimism.

Many people think Malthus is the originator of demography, and I think he is the originator of modern pessimism.

The author of Population Explosion predicted that hundreds of millions of people would die of famine in 1970s. The limit of growth written by the club of Rome describes the exhaustion of human resources. None of this happened, and we spent one "doomsday" after another.

The problem with pessimism is to focus on failure. The media has played a great role in this respect. Countless good things can't become news, but a little bad things will become news. People pursue safety, but they like to find excitement in the news.

In my opinion, any time is a good time to start a company. If you want to be the leader of the company, you just need to be an optimist. If you want to fail, you are afraid of the future!

Eleventh commandment: lose your passion for work and life

My neighbor Warren Buffett said:

I tap dance to work every day. I have the same attitude towards work. Twist everyone into a rope, not to make everyone have fun, but to make everyone work harder. If you perform better, employees themselves will get greater satisfaction.

If you want to fail, you don't have to do anything with passion, just say to yourself, "That's good enough", "That's none of my business", "I don't care" or "I'm retiring."

A person without passion, no matter how good he is, is just a loser.

Rational people can adapt to the world, and irrational people try to adapt the world to him. Therefore, all progress depends on these irrational people.

-Bernard Shaw

Memory and output

This is a book that doesn't teach you how to manage a company well. Because the author thinks he is free and doesn't do very well, this book doesn't tell you what to do to be a good manager, but shares with you what he did wrong, which is the core of this book. What managers can't do is to manage the Ten Commandments.

The first commandment is not willing to take any risks. Drucker said: An important mission of managers is to make use of the company's existing resources and take risks prudently, so as to ensure the company's sustainable operation in the future.

The second commandment is rigid thinking and going its own way. Not only are they unwilling to take risks, but they also insist on their own opinions. They think this must be the best way. For example, Pepsi beat Coca-Cola with a small bottle of rigid thinking. At that time, it was suggested that Ford paint his car in other colors. He is very suspicious that anyone will like cars of other colors. Moreover, Kodak people were questioned that they invented digital cameras and missed the opportunity of development. The book The Innovator's Dilemma says, for example, almost all innovations are not initiated by the top three in the industry.

The third rule is to completely close yourself. Surprisingly, all the elites in the workplace have one thing in common, that is, they mingle with the grassroots employees. The book also lists examples of Churchill and Hitler during World War II. One set up a special office to collect bad news, and the other only listened to good news, and everyone knew the result.

First, under the temptation, I refused to admit that I had made a mistake, and I was arrogant. A person makes a mistake, admits it immediately, and then corrects it. The other kind of people refuse to admit it, whitewash it, and hide it.

The fifth commandment is to seek development and ignore business ethics, such as tax evasion and the idea of becoming a celebrity.

The sixth commandment, don't think hard, have a little understanding of what you should do. Mark Twain said: What really gets us into trouble is not what we don't know at all, but what we know only a little, so managers must have time to think independently. For example, Jobs likes to meditate and think.

The seventh precept, you are not sure, and you rely entirely on experts. Uncle Keo once took him to buy cattle. His uncle said: The key is to look at cattle, not at people, or to listen to the introduction of cattle dealers and judge for yourself. Also, when you meet so-called experts who need to quantify human behavior, you must be extra careful, because management is always a human matter.

The eighth precept is called the prevailing administrative style and bloated team. For example, when Keo first arrived at Coca-Cola Company, he asked his secretary to bring some pencils, but it was delayed. Nokia and Siemens merged to form a new Noci company. Siemens people are very strict, while Nokia people are very relaxed. Therefore, when Nokia people need some paper, they need to follow the complicated approval procedures of Siemens. Later, Nokia people came to the post office from their colleagues. In fact, the person who has the most say in a company should be the person who creates value for the company, not the administrative staff, which is also the reason why most excellent employees leave.

The ninth commandment is information dislocation and poor communication. Casinos, for example, stipulate that no cash can appear on the table. Why? Because the existence of cash will make gamblers think it is real money, without cash, they will know it is some plastic pieces, so they will keep gambling. In an enterprise, we must establish an information flow mechanism so that every employee is very clear about the objectives of the enterprise.

The tenth commandment is a psychological fear of the future, with strong pessimism. There are always some people who are always worried about the development prospects of enterprises, which leads to some negative ideas. In the author's opinion, any time is a good time to start a company. If you want to be a leader in the company, you just need to be an optimist. As long as you are optimistic and positive anytime and anywhere, any difficulty can be solved.

The eleventh commandment is to lose enthusiasm for work and life. Here, I want to mention a person, Warren Buffett, who is Keo's neighbor. Buffett said: I tap dance to work every day. He takes pleasure in his work, so as long as you are always passionate about your work, you can always make employees feel that it is meaningful to fight with you, not just for numbers, and you will have more leadership.