Schwarzkopf On Leadership

Schwarzkopf On Leadership
General Norman Schwarzkopf discusses some of the principles that helped him win the
Gulf War.
From: Inc. Magazine, Jan 1992 | By: George Gendron
Inc.'s founder, Bernie Goldhirsh, recently attended a conference at which he heard General H.
Norman Schwarzkopf discuss the principles that guided him to victory in the Persian Gulf. They may
seem like truisms, but we'd all be better off if more companies followed them.
You must have clear goals. And you must be able to articulate them clearly. One of the advantages
we had in Kuwait, said the general, was the clarity of the mission: "Kick Saddam Hussein's butt out
of Kuwait. The goal was clear and simple, and something that every one of our troops understood."
Give yourself a clear agenda. Every morning write down the five most important things for you to
accomplish that day. Whatever else you do, get those five things done. Insist that the people who
report to you operate the same way.
Let people know where they stand. Everyone knows you do a disservice to a B student when you
give him or her an A. That applies not just to schools. The grades you give the people who report to
you must reflect reality.
What's broken, fix now. Don't put it off. Problems that aren't dealt with lead to other problems.
Besides, something else will break and need fixing tomorrow.
No repainting the flagpole. Make sure all the work your people are doing is essential to the
organization.
Set high standards. Too often we don't ask enough from people. At one point in Schwarzkopf's
career, he was placed in charge of helicopter maintenance. He asked how much of the fleet was able
to fly on any given day. The answer was 75%. "People didn't come in at 74 or 76, but always at 75,
because that was the standard that had been set for them. I said, 'I don't know anything about
helicopter maintenance, but I'm establishing a new standard: 85%.' " Sure enough, within a short
time 85% of the fleet was available on any given day. The moral: people generally won't perform
above your expectations, so it's important to expect a lot.
Lay the concept out, but let your people execute it. Yes, you must have the right people in place.
But then step back. Allow them to own their work.
People come to work to succeed. Nobody comes to work to fail. It seems obvious. So why do so
many organizations operate on the principle that if people aren't watched and supervised, they'll
bungle the job?