“Why Great Leaders Don’t Take Yes for an Answer” by Michael A. Roberto, (Second Edition, FT Press, $36.99).
Managers need to understand that “please the boss” or “fear the boss” are the motivations behind employees usually saying “yes,” or saying nothing while thinking “no”. When it comes to decision-making, the lack of real discussion leads to poor decisions. Leaders need to value “smart talk” not “false consensus”.
Employees often believe saying “no” opens the door to being branded a dissenter, a non-team player, etc. When working for a real leader (i.e. a manager who values two-way communication and feedback), they’d be dead wrong. In this working relationship, leaders aren’t really decision makers; they engage others in the decision-making process.
In the first few pages of Chapter 1, The Leadership Challenge, Roberto drives this point home by recounting a lesson in the remaking of Ford Motor Company’s culture by Alan Mullaly, an outsider brought in as CEO to fix the firm. Mullaly had a simple system for his weekly, what’s-happening meetings with Ford’s senior managers: Each manager posted color-coded (red=problem, yellow=caution, green=progress) wall charts that would focus discussion for all.
Given the company had lost $15 billion, he was surprised that there were no “reds” at the first few meetings. The execs were afraid to talk about their problems. Mark Fields, then head of North American operations, had no choice but to post a “red” about the delay of the introduction of the Ford Edge. Mullaly stood up and clapped, and thanked Fields for the transparency.
Then he asked Fields, “Now, is there any help you need from any member of the team?” A constructive, non-finger-pointing, discussion began. Collective input put the launch back on track. In ensuing weeks, the charts of the executives had dots of all three colors. Problem identification and problem solving improved, as did the relationships between the executives (i.e. colleagues versus rivals).
Another way for leaders to limit their influence and bias is to ask an open-ended question like: “What do you think we should do? Why? How?” Such questions spur discussions that yes-men can’t avoid.
Roberto’s crystalized message comes from Barry Rand, CEO of AARP, who stated, “If you have a yes-man working for you, one of you is redundant.”
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“Instagram Power: How to Build Your Brand and Reach More Customers Through the Power of Pictures” by Jason Miles (McGraw-Hill, $20).
Instagram is an online photo-sharing, video-sharing and social networking service that enables its users to take pictures, and share them through social networking. With the growth of smartphones and tablets propelling the growth of social media like Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, Pinterest and Instagram (over 100 million users,) business needs to craft marketing strategies that change “like” and “share” into “buy”.
Miles states his case for incorporating Instagram into social media marketing by comparing it to other social media based upon four factors: time and energy required to maintain, follower expectations of what to do with the information, life of the content and virality (i.e. ability to share across social media platforms). Instagram “wins” on a number of fronts: Pictures don’t require time to compose responses and time to watch videos. They beg to be shared real-time. Who hasn’t taken a picture with a smartphone and immediately shared it with others online and through email? They encourage viewers to follow what’s next in the story.
Miles sees the story as the hook to create followers. That story takes followers behind the scenes with images of the business at work and its customers. When people connect with what makes the business tick, they make a strong identification with the brand.
Regardless of the size or type of business, Miles provides marketing advice on incorporating the power of visualization.
Jim Pawlak is a nationally syndicated book reviewer.
