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Know-How

The Substance of Successful Leaders

Know-how is what separates leaders who perform--who deliver results--from those who don't. It is the hallmark of people who know what they are doing, those who build long-term intrinsic value and hit short-term targets.

What gets in the way of finding people who can perform is the appearance of leadership. All too often I see people being chosen for leadership jobs on the basis of superficial personal traits and characteristics, such as:

•The seduction of raw intelligence: "He's extremely bright, incisive, and very analytical. I just feel in my gut he can do the job."

•A commanding presence and great communication skills: "That presentation was awesome. How she ever boiled down all that data onto the PowerPoints is beyond me. She certainly had the committee in the palm of her hand. Mark my words, she's going to the top."

•The power of a bold vision: "What a picture he painted of where we are going, moving forward."

•The notion of a born leader: "The people in the unit love her. Such a morale builder and motivator!"

Certainly intelligence, self-confidence, presence, the ability to communicate, and having a vision are important. But being highly intelligent doesn't mean that a person has the knack for making good business judgments. How many times have you seen people confidently making decisions that turn out to be disastrous? How often have you heard a vision that turned out to be nothing more than rhetoric and hot air?

Personal attributes are just one small slice of the leadership pie, and their value is greatly diminished without know-how, the eight interrelated skills that bring leadership into the realm of profit and loss.

We need leaders who know what they are doing. Change is always with us, but its current magnitude, speed, and depth is unlike what most readers of this book have experienced in their lifetime. A Google can come from nowhere and grow into a multibillion-dollar business in a few short years, becoming one of the world's most highly valued companies. There are not only huge opportunities but also great pitfalls that can swallow up whole companies and industries. Think for a moment about the challenges Google has presented to companies in the advertising, broadcasting, and publishing industries, to name just a few.

World-class competitors can now emerge from anywhere--witness the wave of emerging-nation players that have clear advantages in their industries--thanks to mobility of talent, capital, and knowledge.

You will be constantly tested for your know-how and lead your business in the right direction. Will you be able to do the right things, make the right decisions, deliver results, and leave your business and the people in it better off than they were before?

•Can you position your business by finding the central idea that meets customer demands and makes money? And, as will increasingly be required, can you appropriately reposition it?

•Are you able to pinpoint external change by detecting patterns ahead of others and put your business on the offensive?

•Do you know how to lead the social system of your business by getting the right people together with the right behaviors to make better, faster decisions and achieve business results?

•Can you judge people by finding their best talents based on facts and observations and matching them with a job?

•Are you molding a team by getting highly competent leaders to submerge their egos and coordinate seamlessly?

•Do you know how to develop goals by balancing what the business...

 

The type of performance discussed in this lesson is that of a CEO or other high-level executive who has broad responsibility for a complex organization or group of business units. The skills discussed are organized into eight areas that Charan explains are critical for a business to be competitive and profitable. With crisp vignettes, the author fleshes out the thinking and behavioral strategies that work in each domain. His sweeping insights about the business and economic landscape and his descriptions of personality and emotional factors are priceless and far-reaching. Thanks to Morey's interpretive clarity and enthusiastic tone, an appealing narrative drive is created, keeping Charan's message alive and creating anticipation for what is to come. T.W. (c) AudioFile 2007, Portland, Maine

 

"This is the leadership book for the new generatin. It's not about climbing to the top of the heap. It's about substance- becoming the kind of leader who makes the right decisions time and time again. If you want to make your business, yourself, and your world better, use this book as your guide."

 

"If you believe (as I do) that 'leaders are made,' or more precisely, choose to lead and to develop their skills as leaders, then you will find Ram Charan's very practical book on the eight 'know-hows' that are the foundation for leadership performance and success a very worthwhile read."

 

"Ram Charan has hit the nail on-the-head by constructively linking personal attributes and business success. His is an important message at an important time for business leaders."

 

"Ram Charan cuts through the fog and 'mystique of the leader' with bold, fresh insights into the real substance of business leadership. What is truly pathbreaking is Know-How's integration of the eight skills for running a business with the personal and psychological traits of the successful leader. It is the must-have book if you want to differentiate yourself from the pack."

 

"Uniquely Charan. Pactical, insightful, application-oriented and full of wisdom. Read it and then refer to i frequently to enrigh your career. A real treasure."

 

"Know-How is the distilled wisdom of one of our era's most insightful business minds. How do you achieve great business performance? Ram Charan knows how."

 

"What Peter Drucker's The Practice of Management and The Effective Executive were to the 20th century industrial age, Ram Charan's Know-How is to the 21st century global digital knowledge worker age. Brilliant, immensely practical and comprehensive- with almos self evident prophetic wisdom. But, as we all know, what is common sense is seldom common practice."

 

"Know-How brings the complex subject of business leadership down to earth with practial advice on what you really need to know to run a business."

 

"Know-How puts to rest a lot of myths and false assumptions about the job of a leader. In a commonsense, practical way, it provides eight how-tos that are the foundation of leadership. Know-How is a breakthrough book for leaders and those who aspire to a leadership job."

 

"Ram has an unparalleled track record of providing executives with compelling yet practical advice on how to succeed in tumultuous business environments. Know-How continues the tradition, defining in detail the performance factors that can give executives a competitive edge no matter how markets evolve."