Showing posts with label management. Show all posts
Showing posts with label management. Show all posts
Leading vs. Managing
The differences between leading and managing are subtle. What do you think of with these two words?
Here are some key differences annunciated in “On Becoming a Leader” by Warren Bennis:
“The manager administers; the leader innovates.
The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.
The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader’s eye is on the horizon.
The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.”
Covey uses the analogy of a company trying to plow through the rainforest. A manager is constantly sharpening blades, researching new cutting strategies, and encouraging people to work harder. The leader climbs up the tallest tree and realizes they are in the wrong forest!
To lead you must be different. Bennis in the same book talks about effective U.S. presidents and how the good leaders were ones that didn’t do great things by dwelling on their limitations, but by “focusing on their possibilities” (Sounds a lot like the Wednesday Word on Strengths from a few weeks back!).
So I would encourage us to think and act uniquely! The most recent issue of Bloomberg mentioned a man who offers a few high school students $100k to skip college and start a business. A little extreme perhaps, but he’s doing things differently. If all that college has taught us is to think the “right way” or similar to everyone else, has our education really been worthwhile? Let me know what you think.
Source: Will May
Here are some key differences annunciated in “On Becoming a Leader” by Warren Bennis:
“The manager administers; the leader innovates.
The manager focuses on systems and structure; the leader focuses on people.
The manager has his or her eye always on the bottom line; the leader’s eye is on the horizon.
The manager does things right; the leader does the right thing.”
Covey uses the analogy of a company trying to plow through the rainforest. A manager is constantly sharpening blades, researching new cutting strategies, and encouraging people to work harder. The leader climbs up the tallest tree and realizes they are in the wrong forest!
To lead you must be different. Bennis in the same book talks about effective U.S. presidents and how the good leaders were ones that didn’t do great things by dwelling on their limitations, but by “focusing on their possibilities” (Sounds a lot like the Wednesday Word on Strengths from a few weeks back!).
So I would encourage us to think and act uniquely! The most recent issue of Bloomberg mentioned a man who offers a few high school students $100k to skip college and start a business. A little extreme perhaps, but he’s doing things differently. If all that college has taught us is to think the “right way” or similar to everyone else, has our education really been worthwhile? Let me know what you think.
Source: Will May
SWOT Analysis
A scan of the internal and external environment is an important part of the strategic planning process. Environmental factors internal to the firm usually can be classified as strengths (S) or weaknesses (W), and those external to the firm can be classified as opportunities (O) or threats (T). Such an analysis of the strategic environment is referred to as a SWOT analysis.
The SWOT analysis provides information that is helpful in matching the firm's resources and capabilities to the competitive environment in which it operates. As such, it is instrumental in strategy formulation and selection. The following diagram shows how a SWOT analysis fits into an environmental scan:
SWOT Analysis Framework
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Strengths
A firm's strengths are its resources and capabilities that can be used as a basis for developing a competitive advantage. Examples of such strengths include:
- patents
- strong brand names
- good reputation among customers
- cost advantages from proprietary know-how
- exclusive access to high grade natural resources
- favorable access to distribution networks
Weaknesses
The absence of certain strengths may be viewed as a weakness. For example, each of the following may be considered weaknesses:
- lack of patent protection
- a weak brand name
- poor reputation among customers
- high cost structure
- lack of access to the best natural resources
- lack of access to key distribution channels
In some cases, a weakness may be the flip side of a strength. Take the case in which a firm has a large amount of manufacturing capacity. While this capacity may be considered a strength that competitors do not share, it also may be a considered a weakness if the large investment in manufacturing capacity prevents the firm from reacting quickly to changes in the strategic environment.
Opportunities
The external environmental analysis may reveal certain new opportunities for profit and growth. Some examples of such opportunities include:
- an unfulfilled customer need
- arrival of new technologies
- loosening of regulations
- removal of international trade barriers
Threats
Changes in the external environmental also may present threats to the firm. Some examples of such threats include:
- shifts in consumer tastes away from the firm's products
- emergence of substitute products
- new regulations
- increased trade barriers
The SWOT Matrix
A firm should not necessarily pursue the more lucrative opportunities. Rather, it may have a better chance at developing a competitive advantage by identifying a fit between the firm's strengths and upcoming opportunities. In some cases, the firm can overcome a weakness in order to prepare itself to pursue a compelling opportunity.
To develop strategies that take into account the SWOT profile, a matrix of these factors can be constructed. The SWOT matrix (also known as a TOWS Matrix) is shown below:
SWOT / TOWS Matrix
Opportunities | S-O strategies | W-O strategies |
Threats | S-T strategies | W-T strategies |
- S-O strategies pursue opportunities that are a good fit to the company's strengths.
- W-O strategies overcome weaknesses to pursue opportunities.
- S-T strategies identify ways that the firm can use its strengths to reduce its vulnerability to external threats.
- W-T strategies establish a defensive plan to prevent the firm's weaknesses from making it highly susceptible to external threats.
Source: QuickMBA
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