Sound corporate management requires the right purpose. The corporate purpose determines strategy, structure, and culture. If the purpose is wrong, the company cannot be managed correctly. In a free economy, there is the freedom to choose the wrong purpose. This freedom, however, is deceptive, as it leads to dangerous misjudgments. Wrong purpose decisions are shareholder
There are numerous and widespread errors and misunderstandings about management. They hinder the progress of management theory and, above all, they prevent effective management practice. 1. The opinion that only top managers are managers This misunderstanding of management narrows the view to the very top executives – a picture that is still shaped by the
The following principles for turning intentions into results are among the milestones of effectiveness for individuals and organizations. Especially in times of growing complexity and hard-to-predict change, implementation is the measure of managerial professionalism. Focus on the few Anyone who wants to achieve something must learn to concentrate on a few things. Few things –
Among the highest achievements in management are innovations. Genuine innovations break through what previously seemed to be a firmly established framework and redefine boundaries completely. They establish something radically new, a new paradigm, a new way of thinking, often even a worldview or a philosophy of life. They open up something that did not exist
If there is one overarching objective for corporate leadership, it must be this: maximize customer value-not, as is often assumed, maximize profit. Maximizing customer value can hardly ever be wrong; profit maximization, by contrast, almost always leads systematically and inevitably to wrong paths in the medium to long term. Making customer value maximization
Looking Back at Oneself Effective leaders take time at the beginning of the year for an honest review. They ask themselves: What were my goals? What did I achieve – and what not? Why? What did I do well? Where did I make lazy compromises? Which opportunities did I miss? What did I overlook? What
The growing complexity of today’s environment compels top management to operate on a higher level of effectiveness. Either it establishes the steering and regulatory capabilities required by the natural dynamics of complex systems, or it fails under their force. The decisive conditions driving this development are already in place: Complexification is a present reality. With
1. The complex systems of the 21st century have emerged from the achievements of the ways of thinking and methods of the 20th century, but they can no longer be managed with these, because the systems have globally become too complex for them. 2. The 21st century has already brought a more radical transformation in
The first principle is that no one is a good judge of people. Some individuals have more insight into others than most, but even those with great experience do not rely on it. Their competence lies in knowing how often one can be misled by impressions and intuition. The risk associated with personnel decisions is
