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Name of author Rick Baker, P.Eng.

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Written Goals don't just help you set your work-priorities, they help you define your personal Values.

by Rick Baker
On Apr 14, 2021

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Values, Purpose, Vision, Rules, & Goals are not discreet, stand-alone concepts. They are intertwined. For most People, they are iterative-too...gaining more clarity with time. When you boil business down, its essence is People, Process, & SituationsPeople come first. People bring with them 'Character'...which, for each person, is a summing up of his/her Values, Purpose, Vision, Rules, & Goals. 

About structure...shouldn't your people see your business at least as solid as the building you work in?

by Rick Baker
On Apr 13, 2021

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Overall, small and mid-sized businesses lack the structure they need to be sustainable, let alone be excellent. Business is about 3 things: People, Process, & Situations. Process means structure: structure for plans; structure for roles; structure for workflow; structure for communications; structure in the form of rules.

Business Contains Only 3 Things: People, Process, & Situations

Master Rules

Tags:

Business Contains Only 3 Things | Master Rules | Thought Tweets

Discipline: It's about teaching, learning, & accepting most-likely-correct ways of doing things.

by Rick Baker
On Feb 17, 2021

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Discipline is about embracing rules & accountability.

Discipline is about directing actions toward goals.

Tags:

Business Contains Only 3 Things | Goals - SMARTACRE Goals | Master Rules | Thought Tweets

Don't delegate any task you cannot do yourself...except software engineering.

by Rick Baker
On Jan 18, 2021

Clint Eastwood taught those villains, "A man must know his limitations."

Similarly, a man must understand he is at risk when he delegates beyond his limitations.

Yes, I known this also applies to women, however, Clint Eastwood didn't shoot women...at least I don't recall seeing him shoot women or instructing them on limitations.

OK - people, both women and men, must know their limitations and they must understand they should think about the risks before they delegate work that exceeds their capabilities.

So, one Master Rule is – Don’t delegate a task you cannot do yourself.

From time to time, leaders need to do the dirty jobs. [The jobs everyone can do but nobody enjoys doing.] If leaders choose to delegate all the dirty jobs then they will surely alienate some people….perhaps, most followers.

At the other end of the spectrum, leaders get into trouble when they delegate tasks that are beyond their capability. As examples - troubles follow when the time required for tasks is underestimated, when the complexity of tasks is underestimated, and when the resources required for tasks are underestimated. The best way to know the time, complexity, and resources of tasks is firsthand experience doing the tasks.

So, one Master Rule is – Don’t delegate a task you cannot do yourself.

…unless, of course, those tasks are software engineering!

Tags:

Delegation & Decisions | Hero Worship | Humour | Master Rules

When Leaders tell followers what to do they need to limit that telling to BIG PICTURE things.

by Rick Baker
On Jan 16, 2021

The Thinking Behind the Sales Tweet

Some think Leaders should provide followers latitude to do their work as they choose. Some think that’s the way to breed creativity and maximize motivation, innovation, and results. Meanwhile, many [perhaps most] entrepreneur-Leaders tend to micro-manage. 4 keys to success in business:

  1. The Leader must pick strong/capable followers, 
  2. The Leader must tell those followers the desired BIG PICTURE things such as VALUES, VISION, MASTER RULES, and MAJOR GOALS
  3. The Leader must show those followers how he/she [the Leader] goes about his/her work [actions]…i.e., setting one example, the example that fits the Leader’s strengths and personality, and 
  4. the Leader must make it clear he/she expects followers to take action that fits their unique strengths and personalities.

One thing I've learned about drawing lines in the sand: before you draw them, set your Master Rules.

by Rick Baker
On Jan 12, 2021

The Thinking Behind The Tweet

Note to self...

Know the rules you want to live by....your Master Rules

Anticipate possible situations & predict a set of outcomes...'scenarios'.

Visualize how people will feel and act.

Visualize how you will feel and act.

Do these things before drawing lines.

Tags:

Master Rules | Thought Tweets | Vision: The Leader's Vivid Vision

Copyright © 2012. W.F.C (Rick) Baker. All Rights Reserved.