Get it!
huh?
Get It! (defined)
Simplify
Fundamentals
All directions
Complexity often adds value…
…but people complicate things…
…so…embrace AND simplify
Fundamentals?
Fundamentals
All directions?
INWARD
UPWARD
DOWNWARD
SIDEWARD
OUTWARD
INWARD—Be Real
1 Admit What Your Colleagues Already
Know about You
2 Take a Hard Look at Your Core Values
3 Balance Ego and Modesty
4 Put Your Stake in the
Ground, Firmly
5 Develop Your
Signature Style
3
Balance Ego and Modesty
UPWARD—Exceed Expectations
6
Understand Your Manager’s Core Values
7
What if Your Boss is the CEO?
8
Learn to Fly at 30,000 Feet, Even if You’re
Not a Frequent Flyer
9
Articulate Defensible Points of View
10 Stay Focused in the Face of Being
Overwhelmed
11 Avoid Surprises at All Costs
11 Avoid Surprises at All Costs
What specific surprises most frustrate your boss,
or business partners?
 Missed commitments or deadlines
 Failure to follow a process, causing rework (again)
 Keeping quiet in a meeting but then speaking up
later, after a decision is made
 Saying “I’ve known that (insert name) wasn’t
performing all along…”
The SECRET? Talent + Over-Communication
DOWNWARD—Create Accountability
12 Upgrade Talent as if Your Career
Depended on It
13 Clarify and Align Priorities
14 Reduce Uncertainty
15 Delegate
“Unreasonably”
16 Obsess over Metrics
12 Upgrade Talent as if Your Career
Depended on It
15 Delegate “Unreasonably”
Your message when you delegate— “This
assignment will stretch your skills. I will sweat
blood to work alongside you to help you
succeed.”
• An A-player’s response— “Its about time you
challenged me!”
• An B-player’s response— “This is exciting IF you
support me, provide resources and hold me
accountable for what I can control.”
• An C-player’s response— “You’re nuts.” (I will
overpromise and under-deliver).
SIDEWARD—Influence Others
17 Understand the Real Motives of Your
Colleagues
18 Listen ’til It Stops Hurting
19 Elevate Self-Esteem
20 Develop Trusting
Relationships
21 Generate Controversy
to Gain Respect
21 Generate Controversy to Gain
Respect
The paradox: you increase respect by skillfully—
 Giving critical feedback to an employee
 Challenging peers when they miss a commitment
 Telling your boss that two metrics conflict
 Increasing delivery requirements for a supplier
 Raising prices with customers
Tips:
 boost your courage with data, not emotions
 Remind yourself regularly….”What do I really
stand for?”
OUTWARD—Develop Business Acumen
22 Get Strategy
23 Embrace Customer and Shareholder
Reality
24 Become Financially
Astute
23 Embrace Customer and
Shareholder Reality
You must—
• …get inside the customers’ heads! Not just what
they say, but their unstated needs, reflecting what
they see and think.
• …be able to articulate how customers perceive
your company:
exceeding their needs
• adding value, compared with competitors
•
• …be able to articulate shareholder needs and how
they perceive your company’s performance.
30% book discounts available to
FISA member companies
For discount code:
neil@witmerassociates.com