4 foundational blocks in business management

Business leaders need to straddle multiple things while managing a business. They are expected to provide strategic direction to a business, drive execution, handle diverse set of people and skill sets and drive decisions on business basis metrics. It could be overwhelming for someone to handle all these and prepare themselves for bigger challenges in future. I have felt for all business leaders, there are four foundational blocks on which their entire role can be built. I have used these principles / blocks to channelize my effort and learning and found them to be useful. Here, I would like to share the same.

There are typically 4 key pillars that a business manager has to remain focussed on at all times in order to be effective in the role and to build for future.

Broadly any business management rests on these core areas

· Strategic thinking

· Operations discipline

· People management

· Self-management

Strategic thinking

Strategic thinking is a process of developing strategies that enhance the chance of success in a business. It is also the ability to generate unique insights about the business. Critical aspects of strategic thinking are to observe, introspect, plan and decide.

Observing helps to understand market shifts & competitor movements. Assessing impact of all these externalities on the business is introspecting. Planning identifies alternatives to contemplate steps and mitigate risks. Decision making is to arrive at the best course of action. Implied within this is a deep understanding of the core strengths of the organization. It is to know clearly the competitive advantage one holds currently vis a vis competition that forms the basis for any response to external stimuli in the form market change or competitor movement.

Key skills required here are business management, risk management, market assessment, competition mapping and change management. These core skills form the basis on which strategic thinking sets in. A leader with this will be more equipped to steer a business in uncertain times.

Operations Discipline

Operations discipline is about efficiency of execution. It is the ability to execute things envisaged extremely efficiently. It is the process of putting strategy into action. Efficient operations management process involves attention to detail, envisaging any process before conceiving & implementing it, designing parameters to monitor efficiency of a process and defining review / monitoring processes. It involves relentless pursuit of validating the objective envisaged at the time of conceiving any process through strong operations management system.

Any great strategy or good idea if not backed with disciplined operations capabilities to put that into action, will lead to failure of the strategy / idea itself.

Strong operational discipline is a foundational skill of a business leader.

People Management

It is the ability of leaders to work with various people across multiple levels in a team / organization. It encompasses talent acquisition, management & retention. To be able to provide direction to a group of people in enabling them to achieve their goals. Leaders are expected to inspire others around them.

People management is about the ability to lead and inspire people. It entails good communication skills, organization of teams into formal structures, ability to handle pressure of performance, build strong team ethics and support people around in achieving their professional and personal goals.

Displaying tremendous personal integrity is a key ingredient of fostering good people skills. Building transparency and candour in the teams is extremely critical.

Flexibility to accommodate people, trusting, listening and being empathetic are enablers to managing people well.

One key aspect of people management often ignored is stakeholder management. It is beyond being able to direct the teams working together. This entails being able to have clarity on factors affecting people at levels beyond direct connect in an organization.

Performance of teams is significantly impacted by people management practices of leaders.

Self-management

Self-management is all about managing one self. It is the ability to regulate one’s thoughts, emotions & behaviour in all situations.

Self management is the ability to manage stress, to stay motivated at all times, have balanced emotions and act without prejudice at all times. A person with such qualities displays a sense of self confidence that tends to have a positive impact on people around.

Leaders are expected to exhibit high self-awareness & confidence, consistent physical health and sound mental health at all times. These form the fulcrum of self management of a leader.

A leader with extremely balanced and calm mind that doesn’t get overwhelmed by the situation is able to instil a sense of calm around which matters a lot when managing large businesses or teams.

One has to at all times have a sense of inquisitiveness, be interesting, read voraciously and share / discuss with people / groups to ensure there is constant learning for self and people around. This helps one exude a certain sense of well being that will have a positive impact on people around.

Focussing on these four foundational blocks have helped me at all times in managing businesses.