{"id":2731,"date":"2016-12-19T04:48:20","date_gmt":"2016-12-19T09:48:20","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/?p=2731"},"modified":"2016-12-29T16:08:22","modified_gmt":"2016-12-29T21:08:22","slug":"how-do-you-achieve-management-excellence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/how-do-you-achieve-management-excellence\/","title":{"rendered":"How Do You Achieve Management Excellence?"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>In their book In Search of Excellence, McKinsey consultants Tom Peters and Robert Waterman found 8 common themes which they argued were responsible for the success of 14 identified companies of &#8220;excellence.&#8221;\u00a0 The framework is known as the <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/browse\/flevypro\/8-attributes-of-management-excellence-2472\">8 Attributes of Management Excellence<\/a>.\u00a0 The research and theorizing of this framework was based on the <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/browse\/business-document\/mckinsey-7-s-strategy-model-197\">McKinsey 7-S Model<\/a>, also authored by Peters and Waterman.<\/p>\n<p>The 8 attributes are:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>A Bias for Action<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Close to the Customer<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Autonomy and Entrepreneurship<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Productivity through People<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Hands-on, Value-driven<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Stick to the Knitting<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Simple Form, Lean Staff<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Simultaneous Loose-Tight Properties<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>In an interview, Peters later also added a 9th\u00a0attribute: <strong>Capabilities Concerning Ideas, Liberation, and Speed<\/strong>.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/browse\/flevypro\/8-attributes-of-management-excellence-2472\"><img decoding=\"async\" class=\"aligncenter size-full wp-image-2733\" src=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/8attr.png\" alt=\"8attr\" width=\"1024\" height=\"768\" srcset=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/8attr.png 1024w, https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/8attr-300x225.png 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/a><\/p>\n<p>Let&#8217;s quickly explain the 8 attributes with a bit more depth.<\/p>\n<p><strong>A Bias for Action<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This characterizes a company that can get things done\u2014i.e., one that adopts a \u201cready, shoot, aim\u201d philosophy. \u00a0 There is also a strong focus on communication. \u00a0The Bias for Action attribute increases knowledge, interests, and commitments.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Close to the Customer<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Companies of excellence highly value customers&#8211;customer is truly king. \u00a0There is an obsession with quality, reliability, and customer service. \u00a0There is a constant emphasis on customer satisfaction.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Autonomy and Entrepreneurship<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Risk taking, innovation, \u201cbootlegging,\u201d and \u201cchampioning\u201d are highly encouraged in a company of excellence. \u00a0Failure is completely tolerated. \u00a0Employees are never penalized when they take a risk and things go south. \u00a0Successful product or program champions rise quickly up the ranks.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Productivity through People<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>The ideas and actions of the frontline workforce, customers, and suppliers are the main source of productivity gains. \u00a0We are enthusiastic and respectful toward others. \u00a0Employees are treated with utmost respect and dignity. \u00a0Likewise, employees feel\u00a0a sense of\u00a0job security and safety.\u00a0Gains through productivity improvement are broadly shared across the organization with all employees.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Stick to the Knitting<\/strong><\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u201cNever get into businesses you don\u2019t know thoroughly or know how to run.\u201d &#8211;\u00a0Robert Wood Johnson, founder of Johnson &amp; Johnson<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Companies should always stick with what they know best. \u00a0The excellent companies expanded and diversified primarily internally, one small, manageable step at a time. \u00a0Thus, risk was contained and measured.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Hands-on, Value-driven<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This attribute embodies the company philosophy and values of excellence companies. \u00a0Two common key values were<\/p>\n<ol>\n<li>striving to be the best; and<\/li>\n<li>delivering superior quality and service.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p>We should be clear on what our company stands for. \u00a0Leaders are seen as positive role models. \u00a0They are also\u00a0highly visible across the organization.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Simple Form, Lean Staff<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Organizations of excellence have simple, decentralized organizational structures. \u00a0People are know who they report to. \u00a0The structure is &#8220;flat&#8221; with minimal top-level, management staffing. \u00a0Also, organization realignments\/restructures seldom occur in these\u00a0companies.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Simultaneous Loose-Tight Properties<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>This last Attribute of Management Excellence is actually a summary of the other 7. \u00a0There is tight financial and strategic control, but decentralized authority \u00a0The key values of the organization are articulated and known. \u00a0All employees are charged with tightly adhering to these values, but are given leeway as to how the daily business is performed.<\/p>\n<div class=\"aside\"><strong>Are you a management consultant?<\/strong> \u00a0You can download this and hundreds of other <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/pro\/library\/frameworks\">consulting frameworks<\/a>\u00a0and <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/pro\/library\/consulting\">consulting training guides<\/a> from the FlevyPro library.<\/div>\n<p>Does your organization embody these 8 Attributes of Management Excellence?<\/p>\n<p>You can learn more about these management attributes and download an editable PowerPoint about the the <a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/browse\/flevypro\/8-attributes-of-management-excellence-2472\">8 Attributes of Management Excellence\u00a0here on the Flevy<\/a>\u00a0documents marketplace.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In their book In Search of Excellence, McKinsey consultants Tom Peters and Robert Waterman found 8 common themes which they argued were responsible for the success of 14 identified companies of &#8220;excellence.&#8221;\u00a0 The framework is known as the 8 Attributes of Management Excellence.\u00a0 The research and theorizing of this framework was based on the McKinsey&hellip;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/how-do-you-achieve-management-excellence\/\" rel=\"bookmark\"><span class=\"screen-reader-text\">How Do You Achieve Management Excellence?<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":2733,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"neve_meta_sidebar":"","neve_meta_container":"","neve_meta_enable_content_width":"","neve_meta_content_width":0,"neve_meta_title_alignment":"","neve_meta_author_avatar":"","neve_post_elements_order":"","neve_meta_disable_header":"","neve_meta_disable_footer":"","neve_meta_disable_title":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[408,82],"tags":[1166,1165,1164,10,967],"class_list":["post-2731","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-management-leadership","category-operations","tag-8-attributes-of-management-excellence","tag-business-excellence","tag-management-excellence","tag-mckinsey","tag-mckinsey-7-s"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2731"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2731\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2767,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2731\/revisions\/2767"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/flevy.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}