Introduction: In 2024, it is still difficult, what should I do as a manager? Here are my 7 pieces of advice to explore with you today.
Halfway through 2024, the external environment is still not particularly optimistic. At this time, it is difficult for the company. The pressure is also passed down to the manager.
So what do we do as managers? Here I have 7 suggestions.
The general hurried and did not chase the rabbit
Jesse Livermore, an American stock investor, has proposed a principle of least resistance, which is used to describe the relationship between price fluctuations and resistance in stocks.
At work, there is also a "path of least resistance".
What does that mean? It's that when we're doing something, we always do the easiest and unimportant work, because these jobs have the least resistance.
Here's a simple example:
Writing TDL is very important to help us to be the first to think first.
But you don't want to write TDL in the morning because it takes a lot of time and deep thinking. In the end, you spend this part of your time dealing with some unimportant WeChat messages.
You do the same with everything else, always doing the easiest job. When the day passes, you suddenly wake up to the fact that you have only done some trivial things, and the really important work has not made any substantial progress at all.
The so-called general is in a hurry, not chasing the rabbit. In the difficult year of 2024, as a manager, you must have a leveraged mindset and must use your resources and energy on what matters most.
How to write TDL, I explained in detail in the "Practical Guide for Front-line Managers", so I will not repeat it here.
So I advise you to focus on the goal and avoid being busy. Focus on customers, solve customer needs and create customers. Focus on value and maximize value by doing things in high-value areas.
Throw your backpack over the wall
2024 is a difficult year. Performance pressure is very high, and at this time, there is a high wall in front of you.
If you're scared, it's easy to back down.
What to do? The way to do this is as simple as throwing the backpack over. That way, you'll be able to find a way to get over it.
I'll give you an example of yeast itself.
In February 2020, due to the epidemic, yeast had to advance its online transformation.
At that time, I selected a few young people from the company to form an online operation department, trying to do live broadcasts and short videos.
It was a battle for survival with no way back, but no one flinched, and everyone on the team played an active role in solving one difficulty after another.
At the beginning, we didn't even have the tools for live broadcasting, mobile phones, stands, etc.
Our technical brother went to half of Beijing to buy tools, and the epidemic situation in Beijing was already very serious, and the offline stores were basically closed, so it was difficult to buy. We could only buy what we had, and then we managed to scrape together enough tools to start a live stream in my house with an old phone.
So, how do you do live streaming? No one really knows how to do it. Let's go from 0 to 1, learn little by little, and review it in time after each live broadcast, and strive to be better next time than this time. In the end, in less than 1 year, the leap from 0 to 1 million was achieved.
So don't be afraid, face a seemingly insurmountable wall, and push yourself instead.
Elon Musk wrote in his autobiography: "My life is open because I realized that the world is a huge grass platform. ”
When you put yourself under a lot of pressure, you can also bring out your potential. When you get through it and look back, you will find that the difficulties are not so insurmountable.
When there is no way back, it is often the road to victory.
General, always sharpening his sword in the middle of the night
Management scientist Lawrence Peter has proposed a Peter principle, to the effect that employees in the enterprise will be promoted to a position that they are not qualified for.
For example, you may be a top salesperson who was promoted to a management position because you did a good job.
But in fact, you don't really have the quality of management.
In 2024, we must win the battle. Whether or not a team can win or not is largely determined by the team's manager.
Therefore, you must put in a little stupid effort to make up for your abilities.
You are a grassroots manager:
First, you need to change your work thinking, from doing it yourself to doing it as a team; Second, you also have to break the prisoner's dilemma of time; Third, to improve your work skills, you have to go from managing yourself to leading others.
If you are a middle manager, you are an executive, and the requirements for you are higher. From frontline manager to CEO, there are 6 leadership transformations that need to be completed.
What to do? It is to know that you don't know, keep learning, and practice your basic skills. Changing oneself is the hardest because there is the temptation of inertia, but there is no other way.
Dong Yuhui once said a sentence that I particularly like: "Only young generals regret the past, and skilled generals polish their swords in the middle of the night to prepare for the next battle." ”
In 2024, the manager must be a general who wipes his sword late at night. Every day is a new battle, and you have to be ready to do it at all times.
There is a tacit understanding called "I understand you"
To win battles, you have to drive people.
Many times, we can't drive employees because we think about problems from our own perspective and from our own standpoint.
But I want to tell you that employees will only think from their own dimension, employees will only fight for themselves, he will not fight for you, this is called unchanging human nature.
If you don't care about what he wants, he will think that it is your goal, it has nothing to do with him, and he will not be able to execute.
What to do?
It's about getting to know your employees, what they want, what their triggers are.
Charlie Munger once said: appeal to interest, not reason.
Yesterday I also wrote an article about driving employees, not by reason, not by reason. When you understand him, you can combine what he wants with what you want. He works and fights for his career, and he will have internal drive.
Therefore, there is a tacit understanding between managers and employees, called I understand you. Because I understand you, I don't ask you to be loyal to me, but to be loyal to our common goals.
To be both a "father" and a "mother"
What does that mean?
2024 is an existential year, and you have to be responsible for your team.
In order to survive, for the benefit of the team, and in order to get results, you have to be strict with the process, high standards and strict requirements for your subordinates.
Because of the persistence of the goal and the desire for victory, at this time you will desperately chase the process of your subordinates and the results of your subordinates. Doing so will help you get the job done.
But when you're focused on business, you can't ignore people.
The state is the primary productive force, and when they are not in a good state, we should help them adjust the state. Give them genuine encouragement when they are doing well. When you are not doing well, you should also have comfort and encouragement. When the ability is not enough, you also have to personally go to counseling and mentoring.
Be both a father and a mother, and be a person with one hand in business, so that you can do a good job in management and lead a good team.
Good days and bad days must fly close to the ground
Some people say that 2024 is like 1929. In fact, most things fluctuate periodically, there are good days when the sun is shining, and of course there are bad days when it rains, always alternating.
What to do? In my opinion, it is necessary to have the ability to fly close to the ground.
What does that mean here? It's about being a pessimistic optimist, preparing for the worst, but preparing for the best. You have to stay focused on the present moment and take every step of the way.
The odds of winning often depend on precise calculations.
So, you have to do a teardown, what is your goal, what is the best path to achieve the goal, what resources can be called? What do you do monthly, weekly, and daily?
Mr. Kazuo Inamori, the saint of Japanese management, said: "With today's diligence and completion of today's tasks, you will be able to see tomorrow clearly; With the diligence of this month and January, you can see the next month clearly if you complete this month's tasks, and with the diligence of this year, you can see the next year. ”
If you keep your feet on the ground, do your job every day, and carry an umbrella at all times, you won't be afraid of rain.
Fly first and refuel in the air
Finally, the advice I want to give you is that you must dare to make decisions and dare to act.
Many managers, who love to pursue perfection, are always weighing the pros and cons, and have never dared to make decisions, and finally become hesitant and entangled.
But in 2024, the environment is very severe, opportunities wait for no one, you should be slow in making decisions about people, but you must be quick in making decisions about things.
General Patton said, "It is better to execute a good plan now than to execute a perfect plan next week." ”
Fighting on the battlefield, no matter how precise the deployment is, will not guarantee your victory. The situation is changing rapidly, so it is necessary to go into the battlefield after a certain amount of preparation, and in the process of fighting, make adjustments to increase the probability of victory.
So, don't stay where you are, even if you make a wrong decision, it's better than no decision at all. When you see an opportunity, you have to fly first, then refuel in the air, and find the right way in the review and iteration, which is more meaningful than staying in place and constantly internal friction.
If you do it in advance, you can solve 80% of the problems.
These are my 7 tips for managers. You see, it's actually hard to do management. But all greatness is made in the midst of hardship. That's it!
What qualities do managers have to have if they want to sharpen their swords late at night? How to use TDL to do a good job of time management and deep thinking?
What job skills should I have? How to develop the competence of subordinates......
You can find the answer to the above content in "Essential Management Knowledge for Executives". If you want to improve your management skills and drive your team to achieve results, click below to learn now.