"Management is nothing more than motivating other people."
Lee Iacocca

ONE OF THE MOST DEBILITATING MYTHS ABOUT LEADERSHIP

We almost hired TH for the job. He would have made a lot of money -- maybe $400,000 a year.

TH had a very impressive résumé and said almost everything right in the interview. The stumper? When my partner asked him how he would handle a specific problem, he replied: "My approach would be to assemble the key management team, interview them for ideas, and then look for a solution that we all liked and could get behind."

"I didn't like that answer at all," BB told me. Trusted friend and adviser BK agreed. "That's the kiss of death," he said. "A consensus builder."

Contrary to what some business gurus say, consensus decisions aren't usually better than individual ones. Acquiring a consensus is an inward-looking objective -- it solves the wrong problem. It answers the question "What solution can I get everyone to live with?" rather than "What solution is best for the long-term health of the business?"

Consensus makers are politicians. They focus on group dynamics, on finding ideas that please people. Great business leaders are not politicians at all. In fact, the political instinct is almost opposite of the business instinct.

A good leader wants to identify the best decision and then sell that decision to as many of his key people as he can. Once he's achieved a working quorum -- a support group sufficient to make the idea work -- he no longer worries about (or spends his valuable time on) getting everyone on board. He figures, "Get the solution in place and the dissenters will see that it works and come around."

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DEALING WITH DISTRACTIONS

ETR reader JH gets up at 5:30 a.m. ("probably the best advice about productivity I've ever received," he says) and concentrates on getting important-but-not-urgent tasks done first thing. Even so, he doesn't have enough time during the day to get done what he's planned to do.

The problem is people.

"How do you deal with acquaintances who constantly want to have lunch or meet up for a couple of beers?" he asks. "Or those who send lengthy e-mails or ask for advice on subjects that take quite a lot of time to reply to? How do you decide who to deal with or meet with and who to let down gently -- without damaging egos and running the risk of damaging potentially good business relationships?"

Sounds to me that JH's friends are like kids who want to play. They're calling on JH -- not by knocking on his front door the way they did when they were children but by knocking on his e-mail door.

They are saying, "JH, we don't want to work and we don't have any serious ambitions. We want to play, and we want you to play with us." But JH is inside and wants to study for an upcoming test, because he knows that if he aces it he can get into dental school.

So that's the first thing … to understand what is really going on with these people. Once you do that, it's pretty easy. Just say, "Hey, you are a great guy … a great friend … and I want to do this one day. I'll call you next week to tell you when I can come out and play." And then call him as promised … but don't play with him when you have work to do.

In other words, remind "the kids" that you like them -- but say "no" to their unfair requests. Offer them an alternative that you control (as to when, where, and for how long).

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SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT WHILE YOU'RE WATCHING THE ACADEMY AWARDS

Here's a partial list of people who have never won an Oscar -- not even an honorary one:

* Robert Altman
* Lauren Bacall
* Richard Burton
* James Dean
* Marlene Dietrich
* Jean Harlow
* Rita Hayworth
* Stanley Kubrick
* Carole Lombard
* Robert Mitchum
* Marilyn Monroe
* Arthur Penn
* Edward G. Robinson
* Martin Scorsese (Maybe this year?)
* Peter Sellers
* Gloria Swanson

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LIVING RICH
2000 Port

According to "The 30 Second Wine Advisor," the much-hyped 2000 Port is as good as was advertised. Experts like Roy Hersh called the vintage "one for the ages."

Recommended: Gould Campbell 2000 ($22.99). Inky blackish-purple color … opaque … slips down the sides of the glass in sheets rather than mere legs. Characteristic Port aromas more restrained than forward … abundant fruit … full-bodied and unctuous. (See "Word to the Wise," below.)

*****

WORD TO THE WISE: UNCTUOUS

Something that is "unctuous" (UNGK-choo-us) has the characteristics of fat or oil. It is slippery, smooth, slick, and/or buttery. We use the word figuratively to describe someone who is insincere and hypocritical.

MMF

Copyright ETR, LLC, 2003

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