Basically, he believes that his most important job is to hire great people, which he defines as people clearly capable of doing the job assigned to them. His second most important job is to clearly lay out the results he expects. His third (and probably toughest) is to get out of the way and let his people go to work.
I realize that there is nothing earth shattering in this philosophy. What struck me is how matter of fact he was in discussing it, and the track record he had implementing it.
I often talk about how effective communication is not communicating so you can be understood, it’s communicating so you can’t be misunderstood. In my conversation with this CEO, I realized just how important this type of communication is, in a world that moves and changes so fast.
I’ve done a great job of assembling a unique group of people and talent at Imagine. My job now is to raise the bar on my communication so that I can get out of their way.
What do you have to do to drive better performance from your people?