High Output Management Summary | Friday.app

High Output Management: the best book on running a team or company · They are written by leadership "gurus", who have never managed a team before. · They are ... FeaturesPricingRequestInfoBlogLoginSignupSharepostContentsAbouttheAuthor,AndyGroveImportantConceptsfromHighOutputManagementProductionPrinciplesManagerialLeverageEffectiveMeetingsMakingDecisionsPlanning&OKRsOrganizationalStructuresModesofControlMotivatingPeopleTask-RelevantMaturityWrappingupHighOutputManagement:thebestbookonrunningateamorcompanyPostedbyLukeThomasSharepostIhavealove-haterelationshipwithbookson"management."Thecontenttypicallyfallsintooneoftwobuckets:Theyarewrittenbyleadership"gurus",whohavenevermanagedateambefore.Theyarewrittenbyanexecutive,sharinghighly-specificstoriesthatmaynotberelevanttoyoursituation.I'vepurchasedoverfiftybooksonmanagementandleadership,withmanyofthemfallingintooneofthosetwogroups.Thesadrealityisthatmanymanagementbooksarenotworthyourtime.Inthispost,I'dliketointroduceyouto HighOutputManagement,whichisbyfar,thebestbookonleadingteamsthatI'veeverread.Imighteventakethisastepfurther, thisisfarandaway, thebestbookonmanagementI'veeverread.Othersagreewithme. MarkZuckerberg,BrianChesky,SteveJobs,andothers foundittobeinstrumentalinhowtheybuiltandledtheirteams.IntherestofthispostI'dliketoexplainabitmoreabouttheauthor,AndyGroveandhighlightsomekeylearningsfoundinthebook.Don'ttreatthissummaryasasubstituteforthebook.Youneedtogo buyit.Ifyou'dliketolistentopartofthebook,here'stheaudiobook:AbouttheAuthor,AndyGroveBeforejumpingintothecontentofthebook,it'simportanttobuildthefoundationbygivingsomecontextabout AndyGrove,theauthor.HolocaustSurvivor/ImmigrantFirstup,AndyGrovewasborntoinamiddle-classJewishfamilyinHungaryand survivedtheholocaust.HebarelyescapedtoAustriaduringtheHungarianRevolutionandimmigratedtotheUnitedStates,whereheearnedhisdegreeinchemicalengineering.Ifyouwanttolearnmoreabouthispersonalstory,pickup thisbook,it'sfascinating.Fastforwardafewyears....IntelCEOAndyGrovebecameoneofthefoundersofIntel.HewastheCEOofthecompanyforabouttwentyyears(1979to1997),growingthemarketcapfrom$4billiontoalmost$200billion,with64,000employees. Inotherwords,thisguywasinthebigleaguesofcompanybuilding.AsImentionedearlierinthepost,Ihateitwhenpeoplewhodon'thaveexperiencemanagingofferadviceonmanaging.It'slikegettingadviceoncookingfromsomeonewhodoesn'tcook(i.e.-me).AndyGrovelivedinthetrenchesdoingtheworkthat'scoveredinthebook. Thatmatters.Torecap,AndyGroveencounteredalotofadversityandbuiltamonsterbusinessduringhislifetime.Ithinkwecanlearnsomethingsfromhim.Withthisoutoftheway,let'sdiveintotheimportantlearningsfoundinthebook.ImportantConceptsfromHighOutputManagementProductionPrinciplesInthefirstpartofHighOutputManagement,Grovespendssometime(thefirst40pages)coveringbasicproductionconceptswhichhereferstoas"TheBreakfastFactory."Youmaythinkit'sabitstrangethatamanagementbookstartsoffbycoveringtheprinciplesofproduction,butit'ssuperrelevantforthefollowingreasons:Thislaysthegroundworkforwhatisreferredtoas"output"intherestofthebook.ThisanalogyprovidesaglimpseintohowGrovethinksaboutmanagement...he'sveryprocess-orientedandlogical.ThebreakfastfactoryprovidesagreatanalogythatIfoundextremelyhelpfulwhenthinkingabouttheproductionprocessof"non-tangible"work.Ifoundthissectionsimilartotheconceptscoveredinanotherwonderfulbookonmanagementcalled"TheGoal".Grovesdiveintoproductionprocessesindetail.Acoupleofmyfavoritetakeawaysarebelow:TheBlackBoxGrovereferstotheproductionofagoodasablackbox.Therawmaterials(inputs)+labor(whetherfront-lineormanager)=theoutput.Thisistrueofanyproductionprocess.Grovereferstothevalueofindicatorswiththeblackbox.Inordertounderstandwhat'sgoingon,theindicatorsarelikecuttingholesinthebox,givingbetterinsightintowhat'sgoingon(aswellaswhatwecanexpecttheoutputtobe).ImprovingproductivitywithleverageAnotherhelpfultakeawayIfoundissupersimple,butanimportantconcept.Therearetwowaystoincreaseproductivity:PerformtheworkactivitiesatafasterrateIncreasingtheleverageoftheactivities Thenotionofleverageisreferredtothroughouttherestofthebook.Highleverageactivitieswillgenerateahighlevelofoutput.Alow-leverageactivitywillgeneratealowlevelofoutput.Grovealsoreferstothevalueofworksimplification,cuttingdownonthestepsinvolvedintheproductionprocess.ManagerialLeverageWithproductionprinciplesofouttheway,Grovejumpsintotalkingabouttheoutputofamanager.Grovedefinesmanagerialoutputasthe outputofhis/herorganization +the outputofneighboringorganizationsunderhis/herinfluence.Forexample,afootballcoachisnotjudgedactivityalone,butbasedoniftheteamwinsgamesornot.Ifoundthistobeanextremelyhelpfulanalogy.High-leverageactivitiesasamanagercanbedefinedinthreeways:Whenmanypeopleareaffectedbyonemanager.Whensomeone'sactivityoveraspanoftimeiseffectedbyamanager's"nudging"Whenagroupofpeople'sworkiseffectedbyanindividualprovidingakeypieceofinfo.ThefoundationofproductionconceptsissuperhelpfulwhenGrovetalksaboutmanagerialleverage,ashe'sapplyingtakingtangibleconceptsandapplyingthemtointangibleactivitieslikemanagementactivities.EffectiveMeetingsThismaybeoneofmyfavoritesections,asIgenerallyhatemeetingsandtrytoavoidthematallcosts(Italkaboutthismorein makersvs.managers).Therealityisthatmeetingsiswherework can beaccomplishediftheyareruneffectively.Grovetalksabouttwotypesofmeetings:Process-OrientedMeetings (1-1s,staffmeetings, skip-levelmeetings,&operationreviews)Mission-OrientedMeetings (ad-hocmeetingscenteredaroundaspecificoutput...likeadecision)WhatIloveaboutthissectionishowGrovetalksabouthowtorunthesetypesofmeetingseffectively.Forexample,theinformationheprovidesaboutone-on-onesisgold.MakingDecisionsInanotherchapter,Groveprovidesaframeworkformakingdecisions(andhandlingdisagreements).Onceagain,thetimingofthischaptermatters,asthepreviouschapterhediscussedmission-orientedmeetings,inwhichdecision-makingisoneofthekeyoutputs.Forexample,whenmakingdecisions,oneshouldaskquestionslike:Whatdecisionneedstobemade?Whendoesithavetobemade?Whowilldecide?Whowillneedtobeconsultedpriortomakingthedecision?Inmostorganizations,decisionsaremadewithoutaneyetowardsdevelopingaprocess.Ifoundthisfascinatingandamcurrentlyresearchinghowtobuildadecision-makingframeworkthatcanbedistributedinsideanorganization.Planning&OKRsGrovethenspendstimetalkingabouttheroleofplanning,inwhichheintroducesaframeworkcalledobjectivesandkeyresults(OKRs).OKRsareabitofatrendthesedays(andI'vebeena bitcriticalofthem asIbelievesoftwareprovidershaveintentionallycreatedcomplexityinordertopushtheirproducts).Additionally,Grovedivesintothebasicmechanicsofplanning,whichinvolvesthreebasiccomponents:AssesstheenvironmentaldemandAssessthepresentstatus(canyoukeepupwiththeenvironment/marketdemand?)Whatdoyouneedtodotoclosethegap?OneofthereasonswhyIloveHighOutputManagementisbecauseGrovebreaksthingsdownintoeasilyunderstandablebuildingblocks.There'snob.s.orfancylanguageyoumightseeinanothermanagementbook.There'ssomuchsubstancepackedintoeverysinglepage.OrganizationalStructuresGrovealsospentacouplechaptersdiscussingorganizationalstructures,includingthebenefitsofhybridorganizations(withmatrixstructures).Oneofthebiggestchallengesisthenotionofdualreporting,whichisdifficult,butoftentimesnecessary.Iwon'tdiscussthisinalotofdetail,butifyouwanttolearnmore,youshouldbuythebook.ModesofControlOneofmyfavoritesectionsisinregardstomodesofcontrol.Grovetalksaboutincentivesandhowthesebehaviorsareexhibitedintheworkplace.Specifically,theyare:Free-marketforcesContractualobligationsCulturevaluesFree-marketforcesarebasedonprice.Contractualobligationsarebasedonacontract(likeanemploymentagreementorservicecontract).Culturalvaluesarebasedonsharedexperiences.Groveprovidesahelpfulframeworkfordeterminingwhenacertainmodeofcontrolismostappropriate.Onceagain,youshouldprobablybuythebook.MotivatingPeopleThere'sanothergreatchapterinHighOutputManagementonhowtoinspirepeakperformancefrompeopleonyourteam.Grovearguesthatthere'stwowaystoimproveoutputandperformance:trainmotivateGrovethenproceedstooutlineMaslov'shierarchyofneeds,tyinginhowthisframeworkisrelevantwhentryingtoelicitpeakperformance.AnotherfavoriteinthischapteriswhenGroveexplainshowsomepeoplearemotivatedbyachievement,whileothersaremotivatedbycompetence.Inotherwords,ifyou'reatrackrunner,doyouwanttobeateveryoneelseinthefieldorareyoutryingtobeatyourownpersonalrecord?Thisisasimpleanalogy,butextremelyimpactful.Thisissomethingthateverymanagershouldknowforeachpersonontheirteam.Task-RelevantMaturityThere'smoreawesomecontentcoveredinthebook(likehowtodoperformanceappraisals,hiring/firing,etc),butIwon'tgiveawayanymoresecrets.Iwantedtocovertheideaoftask-relevantmaturity,asit'sanotherfascinatingconceptthatGrovecovers.Putsimply, Task-RelevantMaturityisaformulaforhowinvolvedyoushouldbeasamanager.Inotherwords,ifsomeoneisnewtothecompany,youneedtobehands-on,providingguidanceastheygetuptospeed.Somemaycallthis"micro-managing",butifyouwerehands-offwithanewemployee,itmaybedetrimentalastheytrytoestablishworkhabits.Ontheotherhand,ifyouhaveanassociatewho'sskilledinwhattheydo,youprobablyshouldbehands-off,astheyknowwhattheyaredoing.Here'sthetakeaway.Thestyleofmanagementyouusevariesdepends.Thereisno"one-sizefitsall"approach.It'sperfectlyfinetobehands-onwithoneperson(inaparticularscenario)andbehandsoffwithanother.WrappingupWhatIloveaboutHighOutputManagementisthatittakesconceptsbouncingaroundinyourmind,andprovidesalevelofstructurethatmakesthings"click." It'samechanicalviewofhowworkgetsdoneandhowyoucanbemoreeffective.Youcanalsotrustthematerialcovered,asGrovespentdecadesinthetrenches.Thisbookisagifttomanagersandleaders,IstronglyrecommendthatyoupickitupASAP.AlsofromtheFridayblogStartingUp:EverythingIwoulddodifferentlythistimearoundYouroperatingsystemforworkingfromanywhereFridayhelpsyouroadmapyourday,spendhalfasmuchtimeinmeetings,andmore.ExploreTryitFreeYouroperatingsystemforworkingfromanywhereTryitFreeWorkfromanywhereTryitFreeExploreproduct