Key Management Questions

Behind every great executive decision lies a great question.

Ask yourself this. Faced with a new budget or strategic choice, a potential employee or a client negotiation, a bright idea or an intractable problem, what questions do you need to ask? To test the projections, tackle the cause of problems, to make the right decision — the answer is simple. Ask the right question.

Managers are all too often expected to lead with answers; to approach any situation armed with a company procedure or an off-the-shelf solution, but in an uncertain world, the right question is worth a world of standard answers. Asking the right question is the first step to understanding a business situation, and the first step to finding the right answer.

Key Management Questions is your practical guide to intelligent management analysis and inquiry. It sets out searching questions to ask of your business, your colleagues and yourself — from shaping strategies to persuading people - and tells you where to find many of the answers.

With this book you can make who, what, where, how and why your most effective business tools.

• Introduction
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1. The big picture
   questions of vision and mission
• The big picture
• Step one — the ideal future — where I want us to be
• Step two — the start of the journey — where are we now?
• Step three — the vision thing
• Step four — the mission
• Strategy
2. The best use of the best people
   questions of people and purpose
• The best use of the best people
• Life plan
• Making the best use of the best people
• How well must the jobholder perform? — job standards
• What variations of the recruitment process have been successful?
• Should we advertise — if so, where?
• Should we use recruitment specialists?
• Should we poach from a competitor?
• What is the job worth? — pay and conditions
• Can we save time screening applications?
• Psychometric tests
• What questions should I ask? — final preparation for recruitment interviewing
• General guidelines for interviewing
• What should I ask every candidate?
• How do I get the most out of my hiring practices?
• How should I approach job performance appraisal?
• Can I motivate other people?
• How do I delegate effectively?
• Did someone say "dumbsizing"?
3. Getting people to work together
   questions of collaboration and culture
• Understand your teams
• Shared values creates and sustain successful teams
• Values
• Corporate culture
• Winning teams
• Competition and conflict within and beyond teams
• Warring conflict
• The watcher watched
4. "Leadership is what leaders DO!"
   questions of business leadership
• Introduction to leadership
• The charismatic leader
• Characteristics of the charismatic leader
• The pragmatic leader
• The instrument
• A leadership game plan
5. Forget your problem — give me your solution
   questions of finding and fixing business problems
• Nothing is perfect
• The three key problem-solving tools
• Morphological analysis and reverse engineering
• General questions that work in helping to solve problems
• Involving others who may be closer to the problem
• A question of creativity
• Final analysis
6. Decisions, decisions
   questions of choice
• Ancient history
• What are the "musts" that a decision has to deliver?
• General questions for decision-makers
7. Knowing the numbers
   questions of finance and performance
• All business are cash business
• A few definitions
• Working capital
• Cash flow
• Profit and loss
• The balance sheet and some important ratios
• Budgets and budgeting
8. You can buck the market!
   questions of markets and marketeers
• Mrs Tatcher may have been wrong
• Market dominance planning
• The marketing strategy
• Some performance indicators
• Sales reporting
• Promotional activities
• Some important further questions
• A brief word about a tricky subject
• Case studies and research
• Consultants are better than most … but they must do better — trust me I'm a consultant!
• Advertising
• The key steps toward successful sensible budget advertising
• How do consultants help with market dominance?
• The Lambert Dominance Marketing Strategy Audit
9. Making the right connections
   questions of profitable e-commerce
• New has always been volative
• E-business corporate analysis
• Consultants like me and the new (that is to say "old") economy
• Ten tips for the small (and large) business website (and for consultants)
10. The power to influence
    questions of sales and success
• Using questions intelligently
• Influency psychology
11. Making change pay
    questions of transformation
• Behaviour in time of change
• Lambert's Laws — again
12. Stop wasting the training budget!
    questions of profitable learning
• Building world-class knowledge
• Research
• What is knowledge management?
• How well do we manage knowledge today — a self-assessment
• A simple game plan for success
• Conclusion
13. When others have the answers
    questions of choosing and using consultants
• Should I use consultants?
• Thought starters
• Interviewing consultants
• Key reasons for using consultants
• Think about making a very short, but telling, speech
• When assigning the consultant
• Clients have rights
• Accredited consultant code of ethics

• Glossary (and soapbox)

A lot of valid questions, but it still doesn't feel like something I would grab when I would analyze something or need to reach a decision.

It is not in any way bad, it just doesn't give any lasting impression.