Business Sphere

I was reading a book authored by Whit Criswell on “What Makes A Winner”.  I have realized that the six qualities listed by Criswell are the very same qualities that a manager or leader in business must have, to achieve success.

     Success in business is never an accident. It is the result of personal character, discipline, positive attitude towards work, and genuine relationships with the people inside the organization and outside, especially with the customers.

     The six qualities enumerated by Whit Criswell to make a winner are as follows, with my own annotations:

     1. Work With A Purpose.  A manager must have a sense of mission, vision and goals for the business. Without it, the company will not get anywhere. So, a good manager must know where he is headed and have figured out how to get there, whether it be business growth, expansion, or diversification. Focus is always necessary in business, the reason why a strategic plan is a must.

     2. Insist on Integrity.  A manager must have integrity and credibility. Nothing lasts without integrity. Sooner or later, people in the organization will discover and develop distrust to a manager who does not always tell the truth. Customers will stop patronizing products being sold if they find out that the promotion and advertising about the business and its products are half-truths.

     3. Never Make Excuses.  Good managers never play the blame game. They accept responsibility for their mistakes, and stop passing the buck to their subordinates. People who are good at making excuses are rarely not good at anything else. They are like jellyfish with no backbone, and do not deserve to become managers.

     4. Never Stop Learning.  All managers are learners. The moment you stop learning, you stop managing and leading. And your business will also decay and die, for lack of innovation, new products and new services. The business world is dynamic and constantly changing, and it is a managerial responsibility to position the business to cope with the rapidly changing environment.  

     5.  Economize Time And Energy.  We all have the same amount of time, but good managers use time as an ally, to achieve business mission, vision and goals. They are aware that time is more valuable than money. So they use their time and the time of their people wisely.

     6.  Resolve To Stick With It.  Good managers do not know how to quit. They keep moving on, keeping on.  They adhere to the principle that “A winner never quits, and a quitter never wins.”  They learn from their failures. Good managers realize that discouragement is a choice. But in case of mistakes and failures, they choose to get up and start over.

     So, what qualities do you have to be a good manager or leader?