Everything great that has ever happened in this world began with a small action. It was followed by another and then another and then another. For the most part, that's just how we get things done as human beings.
Unfu*k Yourself 2023 Day-to-Day Calendar: Get Out of Your Head and Into Your Life. February 8
When I took command of Benfold, I realized that no one, including me, is capable of making every decision. I would have to train my people to think and make judgments on their own. Empowering means defining the parameters in which people are allowed to operate, and then setting them free.
But how free was free? What were the limits?
I chose my line in the sand. Whenever the consequences of a decision had the potential to kill or injure someone, waste taxpayers' money, or damage the ship, I had to be consulted. Short of those contingencies, the crew was authorized to make their own decisions. Even if the decisions were wrong, I would stand by my crew. Hopefully, they would learn from their mistakes. And the more responsibility they were given, the more they learned.
It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy by D. Michael Abrashoff. Grand Central Publishing. 2007. p.29,30
The key to being a successful skipper is to see the ship through the eyes of the crew. Only then can you find out what's really wrong and, in so doing, help the sailors empower themselves to fix it.
A simple principle, yes, but on the Navy applauds in theory and rejects in practice. Officers are told to delegate authority and empower subordinates, but in reality they are expected never to utter the words "I don't know." So they are on constant alert, riding herd on every detail. In short, the system rewards micromanagement by superiors - at the cost of disempowering those below. This is understandable, given the military's ancient insistence on obedience in the face of chaos, which is essential in battle. Moreover, subordinates may sidestep responsibility by reasoning that their managers are paid to take the rap.
A ship commanded by a micromanager and his or her hierarchy of sub-micromanagers is no breeding ground for individual initiative. And I was aiming for 310 initiative-takers - a crew ready, able, and willing to make Benfold the top-rated ship in the fleet.
It's Your Ship: Management Techniques from the Best Damn Ship in the Navy by D. Michael Abrashoff. Grand Central Publishing. 2007. p.13, 14
"A mission is what you wish the company to be over the next three-to-five years." Again, it should contain "to be." Your mission sets a shorter-term agenda for steps that will allow you to someday achieve your vision...
"Objectives (interchangeable with 'goals') are what you want to have."
Not "be." "Have."
The key is to sift through all the possible metrics and KPIs to determine the goals that most define success. Dunkin's mission was to be "the dominant doughnut and coffee provider in each and every market" in which it competed. Its early objectives?
Strategic initiatives are, "the four-to-six most important tasks an organization must execute in order to bridge ever-scarce resources to achieve stated objectives..."
Tactics are, "the four-to-six action steps needed to support the achievement of each department's strategic initiatives..."
Jeff Haden, quoting Robert Rosenberg - CEO of Dunkin' Donuts'
"Think Company Vision Statements Are a Waste of Time? How Dunkin' Donuts' CEO Created a Plan to Recover From Disaster," by Jeff Haden. Inc. Nov. 17, 2020
