When I was working on a consulting project before, I went to a client company for a meeting.
A problem was found: the data reports submitted by various departments were basically unusable.
In the end, together with their bosses and the bosses of each business unit, I reorganized the data dimensions and standards.
Why don't I think the previous report works?
Because tables don't just pile data on top of each other and look like there's everything.
Behind the report is your understanding and insight into the business, which should provide strong support for your decision-making.
It's like when we drive, if we don't have the parameters of the dashboard, do you feel black?
If data reporting is so important, why do many managers treat it as a burden?
Because they only see the side where there is a lot of data and it takes time and energy to sort it out;
But they don't realize that the process of combing through data is also the process of identifying authenticity issues.
This different perception of data is called poor cognition.
What widens the gap between you and others is never cognition, but poor cognition.
Your level of knowledge determines the level of your development
The so-called poor cognition means that you know and I know.
But you understand better than I do, you grasp the essence, and I am still confused by appearances.
Below, let's talk about some management scenarios.
1. Poor cognition of execution: only know execution, and don't think about how to execute more efficiently
From my own experience, good managers have the habit of thinking deeply.
To do management, we must think more, and only by thinking can we find problems, solve problems, and find innovative ideas.
Next, let's use the matter of execution to talk about it specifically.
As soon as some managers receive a task, they immediately assign it and want the team to execute it immediately.
He only assigns tasks and never thinks about why he did it.
For example, the company has a strategic adjustment, so that each manager can preach to the team.
After the company meeting, he immediately returned for a small meeting.
Relay the boss's words to the employee as they are, and when the employee has doubts, he will only say, "The boss has decided, and I can't help it."
He feels that when the task is assigned to the employee, his task is completed.
However, a good manager will first think through a few questions:
What is the purpose of the company's overall strategic adjustment?
What changes have occurred to the company's various business lines after the strategic adjustment?
How will your department change as a result? What is the new niche of the department within the company?
What are the new goals of the department?
Explain the changes and the unchanged to the employees clearly.
In this way, everyone knows what the focus and goals of the future work are.
You see, the same is to preach the company's strategic changes, the level of cognition and understanding of execution is different, and the way of doing things is completely different.
The most basic execution is what the boss says and what you do.
A higher level of execution means that you can complete the tasks assigned by the boss 100%.
The highest level of execution is the execution of speculation.
It's that after the boss arranges the task, you will think about how to do it well, and you will think about the things that the boss or others have not thought of.
The level of your understanding of execution determines the extent to which you can do things and the height of your development.
2. Poor cognition of management: managers should do everything themselves.
There are also managers who never grasp the key points and make simple things extremely complicated.
For example, there are managers who are busy from morning to night, as if everything is important.
He has to control every detail, and the team will operate normally without him.
However, when it comes to looking at performance, you will find that his team only has hard work and no credit.
He doesn't think:
What is the team's primary goal? Where do you spend your time? What can be delegated? What are the three most important things?
You see, this is caused by the poor understanding of managers about management.
Such hard-working managers do not understand management at all, and their cognition of management is still on the surface.
The most superficial perception of management is to grasp the eyebrows and mustaches, and be busy all day long.
Being able to read people's hearts and understand human nature is the only way to enter the door.
And the highest level of management is to lead by example and influence others.
Therefore, some people say that it is difficult to do management, and some people say that management is a craft and an art.
Because everyone's cognition and understanding of management is different, people with a higher level of cognition will naturally go to a higher position in management.
How can managers break the cognitive gap?
Why do we have cognitive gaps? Essentially, everyone thinks differently.
As a manager, if you want to break the cognitive gap, you need to adjust your brain to compatibility mode.
You need to be able to think in a combination of multiple ways of thinking, not be confined to one thought pattern.
We use global thinking to see the whole, dynamic thinking to see changes, additive thinking to expand possibilities, and subtractive thinking to focus on the key points.
Actively compatible with more modes, open your own thinking and cognition.
For example, execution.
If you want to do a good job of execution, you must first disassemble the goal, and when dismantling the goal, you need to use additive thinking.
1. Dismantle the goal and use additive thinking
The so-called additive thinking, summed up in one sentence, is the road taken in life, and every step counts.
That is, you take the initiative to seek various possibilities, try to find the best solution, and accumulate experience.
Even a little expansion of the mind will make obvious changes in external things.
So, how do you use additive thinking to disassemble the goal?
(1) Horizontal dismantling: who do you create value for, and who creates value for you?
The meaning of horizontal dismantling of the goal is to think about the following questions from a global perspective:
Where does your team stand and what role does it play in achieving your company's goals? What other departments are upstream and downstream of your business?
Which of these departments are closely related to your business? Have a significant impact on your goals?
Which departments do your departments affect? Which department does your department create value for?
It is worth mentioning that Peter · Drucker said that there will only be attrition within the team, and what really determines your value is the evaluation of you by other departments, that is, whether they think you are valuable.
If you think through these issues, employees will know what their goals are in the future, and at the same time, they will solve the problem of inter-departmental collaboration.
(2) Longitudinal dismantling: a rod is inserted to the end, so that employees know what to do
Longitudinal dismantling refers to the dismantling of the target with a rod inserted to the end.
The group goal is dismantled to the company, the company goal is dismantled to the subsidiary, the subsidiary goal is dismantled to each business division, the business unit goal is dismantled to each department, the department goal is dismantled to the group, and the group goal is dismantled to the individual employee.
Only when the goal is dismantled to the end can employees know what they want to do, what is the relationship between their goals and the team's goals and the company's goals, and they will be motivated.
2. To implement the landing, we must use subtractive thinking
Human instinct is to naturally like addition and not subtraction, because we tend to think of reduction as a loss.
But people's time and energy are limited, and if you want to do everything well, you are destined to do nothing well.
Only by focusing the whole time on important things can the implementation be efficient and truly promote the implementation of the goal.
Poor or inefficient implementation is often due to the fact that you have not found the real problem and are confused by the pseudo-problem.
Using subtractive thinking is a process of exploring the essence from the surface and constantly removing the false and retaining the true.
It's not about simply cutting out redundant information at work, but about being able to see the truth and prioritize things.
For example, if you want to improve your team's execution:
First of all, we should think with subtractive thinking, find the connection between various goals, and determine the key goals;
Second, for each key goal, you also need to find the key processes and key metrics that you should focus on to achieve that goal.
Then, when you chase the employee's implementation process, you can look at his key processes and key indicators, rather than his overtime hours, which has nothing to do with human efficiency.
Just this year, I published a book called "Diligence Journal", which is actually consistent with the underlying logic of subtractive thinking, delete unnecessary things, find the three important things, and concentrate on them.
You can subtract around the following principles:
(1) First priority
What are the most important things today? Don't have more than 5, preferably 3 things, the core and key of TDL is to do things first.
For example, I have three things today, the first thing is to have a meeting with the online marketing team, the second thing is to do a live broadcast of the book club, and the third thing is to have a meeting with my partners to discuss the performance incentive system.
(2) Target strategy
Once you've identified the three important things, then think about what you want to achieve in each of them. What should I do?
For example, if you have a meeting with a partner today, your goal is to reach a consensus with the partner. It's about being consistent in principle and discussing the details thoroughly.
So, how do you reach a consensus? I prepare a separate report for each scenario.
Use the logic of selling dreams to tell them: What is the principle of this plan? What is the basis for the report's calculations? For example, how to calculate the cost and how to calculate the profit......
You see, if you think about these questions clearly, you have goals, strategies, and methods for doing things.
(3) Timing
The so-called schedule should be determined according to your own habits and things. It's all about putting the whole block of time on the things that matter.
For example, I have a meeting with my partner to discuss the company's performance incentive system, and I arrange this for 3 hours because it is very important, and I can't talk deeply about it if I don't have time.
(4) Daily review
At the end of the day, what you did well, what you didn't do well, and how you improved.
If you think and summarize every day, and do the same mistake without making a second mistake, then your growth speed and quality will improve.
Finally, to sum up: what widens the gap between you and others is never cognition but poor cognition.
The extent to which you understand management and execution will affect the efficiency and results of what you do. So, how to break the cognitive gap? As a manager, you have to try to be compatible with various thinking patterns in your brain, and use different modes to think and explore at different stages.
Look at the whole with global thinking and find your own ecological niche; Use dynamic thinking to see changes and find opportunities for innovation; Use additive thinking to expand accumulation and try more possibilities; Use subtractive thinking to focus on the most important things and focus your energy and time on what matters most.
If you want to do a good job in management, you must have a systematic management system. Do a good job in the basic skills of management and continue to get results.
How do you put the right people in the right places?
How to set goals that make people feel good and want to do it?
If you don't chase the process, you can't get the result, so how to chase the process?
And how to do performance management, activate the vitality of the team, so that everyone is very happy and willing to work?
How to coach different types of subordinates? How to train people?
What to Do Review......
You can find the answer to the above content in "3 Management Systems for Front-line Managers". There are not only dry goods, but also 20 tools to use.
Click on the link above to learn now.