Norman Schwarzkopf, the American and allied commander
in the Gulf War, tells about one of the most important
pieces of advice he ever received as an officer. When he was
promoted to a command at the Pentagon, he asked his senior
officer how he should handle the enormous complexities of
the position. His senior officer said these words: “When placed
in command, take charge!” This is the guiding principle of men
and women who rise to positions of power and influence
within their organization: “Take charge!”
In the Bible a master says, “Oh good and faithful servant,
you have been master over small things, I will make you master
The Principle of Unity of Command—One Person in Charge
over large things.” In business, this means that when you accept
responsibility and take charge in smaller things, you will be
given larger and larger responsibilities to carry out. Your performance
of today determines your opportunities of tomorrow.
The Seven Responsibilities of Leadership:
The two requirements for an excellent leader are character and
competence. Character refers to your personal qualities of
integrity, courage, and persistence. Your competence is measured
by how capable you are of leading, managing, and getting
the job done. This is vital to your creating a high degree of
unity and commitment among the people who report to you.
There are seven critical areas where you must perform consistently
well to become an excellent executive and fulfill your
responsibilities to yourself and your organization.
Job number one: Set and achieve business goals. This is
the first area where clarity is essential. You must know exactly
what it is you are trying to accomplish and how you will measure
success when you achieve it.
In a recent Fortune article investigating the reasons why
twenty-eight CEOs of Fortune 500 companies had been fired
in the previous three years, one fault stood out above all others:
“Failure to execute.”
In warfare, a military commander is given the responsibility
of achieving victory against the enemy. In business, each executive
at every level is given the responsibility to achieve specific,
measurable business victories or goals. The inability to
get the required results, and to achieve the goals in a timely
fashion, is the primary reason for failure, frustration, and firing
at every level, in every company, large or small.
Take the time to develop absolute clarity about what it is
you expect to accomplish to justify your position and earn
your pay. Then focus and concentrate all your energies on
achieving that goal, or goals, in a timely fashion. Your reputation
for achieving essential goals will help you more than anything
else you can do.
When General George C. Marshall, chief of staff of the U.S.
Army during World War II, was urged to replace the arrogant
and outspoken General George S. Patton, he told his critics, “I
can’t spare this man; he wins battles.”
Job number two: Innovate and market. Cash flow is the
“blood to the brain” of every business organization. Cash flow
comes from the ability to generate sales and revenues in a
timely fashion. Sales generation requires continuous innovation
and an un-relenting focus on marketing and selling the
products and services of the company.
Apply the “CANEI Strategy” to your sales and marketing
efforts. CANEI stands for “Continuous and Never-Ending
Improvement.” Never be satisfied. Look for new, better, faster,
and cheaper ways to market and sell your products, every day,
and every hour of the day.
Victory in business terms means the ability to win customers,
to capture markets, and to generate sales and revenues
in excess of their costs. The ability of the executive
or entrepreneur to innovate and market continuously is the
ultimate determinant of business success, profitability, and
promotion.
Job number three: Solve problems and make decisions.
Whatever title appears on your business card can be crossed
The Principle of Unity of Command—One Person in Charge
out and replaced with the words “Problem-Solver.” This is your
real job. You solve problems from morning to night. Your success
is largely determined by how effective you are at solving
the problems that arise in your work.
Effective executives are good at solving problems. They
make the right decisions, and they make their decisions right.
Whenever you are faced with a difficulty at work, ask,
“What exactly is the problem?” Beware of a problem for which
there is only one definition. Restate the problem in several different
ways to make it more amenable to a solution. Always
ask, “What else is the problem?”
In solving problems, think and talk exclusively in terms of
solutions. Focus all your attention on the specific actions you
can take to solve the problem. Whatever the situation, make
the necessary decisions, and continue moving forward. Forget
about the past and who is to blame. Focus on the future and
what actions you can take now. Take command.
Job number four: Set priorities, and work on key tasks.
One of your key responsibilities is to be working on your most
vital task all the time and to assure that everyone who reports
to you is also working on their key tasks.
Remember that only 20 percent of what you do accounts
for 80 percent of your results. According to Robert Half International,
fully 50 percent of time at work is wasted doing
things that contribute nothing to the goals of the company. Of
the 50 percent of time that is actually spent on the work, much
of that is wasted as well on low-value tasks.
Always ask yourself, “What are my highest value activities?”
If you could only do one thing all day long, what one task
would that be?
Your ability to set correct priorities on the expenditure of
time and resources is an essential skill of leadership. The very
worst use of time is to do efficiently what need not be done at all.
Job number five: Concentrate single-mindedly on the one
activity that can make the greatest difference. Long-term
potential consequences are the key to setting priorities.
Always ask yourself, “What is likely to happen if I complete, or fail to
complete this particular task?” Something that is very important
is something for which there are serious consequences,
one way or the other.
Write down everything you have to do before you begin.
Set priorities on your list by using the ABCDE system. An “A”
task is something that is very important. It has serious consequences.
A “B” task is something that should be done but has
only minor consequences. A “C” task is something that it
would be nice to do but that has no consequences at all, like
going out for lunch or reading the newspaper.
A “D” task is something that you can delegate to other people.
You should use your creativity to delegate everything you possibly
can to free up more time for the few tasks that only you can do.
An “E” task is something that you can eliminate altogether.
It may have been important at one time, but it does not contribute
to the achievement of your goals today.
You can only get your time and your life under control to
the degree to which you stop doing certain things. Practice
“creative abandonment” with tasks that no longer contribute
to accomplishing your most important goals.
Job number six: Perform and get results. This is how you
are judged every single day. Your ability to get results deter-
The Principle of Unity of Command—One Person in Charge
mines your pay, your promotion, your success, and the respect
and esteem in which you are held by the people around you.
Identify your key result areas, the tasks that you absolutely, positively
have to do well in order to be successful. Set standards of
performance on each of those tasks. Be sure that you can measure
whether or not you have done the job in an excellent fashion.
Determine your critical success factors, those key metrics
that tell you what is happening in each important area. Focus
and concentrate on these critical numbers. Continually work
to improve them.
Ask yourself continually, “What results are expected of me?”
Whatever your answer to this question, work on these specific
results single-mindedly. They are the major determinants of
your success.
Job number seven: Be a role model for others. This is something
only you can do, and it is perhaps the most important
responsibility of leadership. One of the marks of superior executives
is that they conduct themselves as though everyone were
watching them even when no one is watching. Top people set
higher standards for themselves than others would set for them.
Immanuel Kant, the German philosopher, postulated his
universal maxim more than 200 years ago. He said, “Live your
life as though your every act were to become universal law for
all people.”
The highest achievement for a leader is the development
of “moral excellence.” On this plane of behavior, the leader
practices the highest virtues of courage, integrity, and character
that it is possible for a person to have. The leader holds his
own feet to the fire. He continually raises the bar on himself.
He never makes excuses for his performance.
