Ильдар Хусаинов – The power of freedom (страница 24)

If you try to control everything, you'll find out that you have far less time for management than you could have, because the company continues to grow and your time is not unlimited. The ability to effectively prepare replacements for oversight and evaluation duties is critical. Every founder goes through incredibly challenging stages of their company development. Typically, leaders possess exceptional talents and rare innate qualities. It's important to understand and prepare for the fact that not everyone will be able to work with the same level of efficiency in the future. This difference needs to be taken into account. Therefore, always allow for the possibility that a task you completed in one day may take someone else a week. This is part of the management process, and you earn your income from it, while employees earn theirs – it's all part of the system.

The lack of evaluation, oversight, and sufficient resources leads departments to engage in low-value activities. This correlation has been consistently observed in practice.

The entire system always operates like a business, while we often behave like a government. Striving for this balance is essential. The more freedom you give each department within the system, the more energy you will receive from the "bottom up."

Now, let me describe some mechanisms for effective synchronization using examples from various departments.

1. Encourage maximum interaction among employees. It is crucial that all staff members, not just leaders, embrace the company culture. Engage with your team regularly. Even when pressed for time, avoid limiting communication solely to management discussions.

Many leaders make the mistake of interacting only with their direct reports. I always say, "I want to talk to your people!" During my assessments I seek to understand each person’s role, responsibilities and motivations. Once, I spoke with an employee who told me, "We were warned before the meeting that we shouldn’t say too much, that we could even be fired on the spot." It turned out that the department head was intimidating the staff. After that conversation, I understood why people always seemed quiet during our first meetings. Then I start working with them, telling a joke to ease the tension. After about 25 minutes, they start to open up, and by the 35th minute, communication flows naturally. By the end of the conversation, we’re almost friends. After the meeting, I always send them a message: "Great job! That was an excellent idea!"

2. Identify the goals of each department. I constantly discuss the objectives with every department, always asking the leader: "What’s important to you? Tell me about the motivational management in your department. Show me how it aligns with our goals. Where do you see potential risks?" If someone responds with, "Everything is fine," I start to worry. I say, "No, tell me specifically: where do you see risks? How have you adapted models? Where have you taken risks for the sake of the company?" They need to be prepared for challenges and understand that making mistakes is part of the process.

Let me illustrate the type of questions I typically ask during these discussions. I might ask an employee: "Who have you assigned value and motivation to? If the market declines, who will be affected?" This approach facilitates in-depth conversations and helps us develop a well-balanced organizational model.

Next, I ask: "How are things going with other departments? Are there any challenges you’re facing? What improvements would you suggest?"

It’s important to understand that this seemingly routine conversations are highly constructive. It’s difficult to capture the dynamic nature of these meetings through a book, so I’ll provide a comprehensive record of one of such meetings.

* Meeting Minutes

https://disk.yandex.ru/i/ue9T9j0dijVOoA

3. Conduct regular assessments of the financial well-being of departments. In every department, I always ask about its financial performance. I often say, "What is the current budget status? Where are you prioritizing resource allocation?" My favorite question is, "If I gave you one million rubles right now, how would you spend it in your department and why?" This is an important checkpoint for me because it helps me understand how aligned a manager's thoughts are with their actions. Honestly, when I pose this question, I first think about how I would respond if I were the head of that department and where I would allocate that million. Many people don’t always grasp how crucial proper resource allocation is for the functioning of departments and the organization as a whole.

Such hypothetical questions help quickly reveal differences in perspectives. This component plays a key role in our processes.

4. Clarify the goal-setting of departments. I always start discussing goal-setting with a risk assessment. I say to department heads, "Tell me about the current risks. What are you doing to manage them?" People often open up here, and discussing risks helps achieve alignment between the system and its components. Fear often plays a significant role, and through these conversations, we can address up to 90% of risks.

"I’m afraid the finance team won’t approve my expenses," or "I feel like my work won’t be appreciated by others" – such doubts come up during our discussions. A leader doesn’t necessarily have to be a genius; it’s important to be a good communicator and to handle everyday issues that often determine success.

To conclude this topic, I want to emphasize an important point. As a system grows, a company leader may feel that managing it becomes more complex. This is completely understandable: the more components in a system, the more interactions between them, increasing the likelihood of misunderstandings and various challenges. That’s why I often hear doubts about the necessity of participating in large businesses. However, I believe that the law of large numbers supports the idea that patterns become clearer on larger scales. In big systems, management is more predictable than in small ones, which reduces the level of risk that entrepreneurs worry about.

Large systems are more predictable. They are more resilient and easier to manage. Therefore, when you set a goal to grow within a large system, you give yourself a chance for success.

The drive for growth and new heights is a key aspect of success. Success always inspires and expands opportunities. If you’re not aiming for expansion and don’t want to feel uplifted, it will likely be challenging to achieve success. Within a company, systems need to be built in such a way that they can grow and develop, becoming stronger. Only then can true success be achieved.

Chapter 12. About Employees and Company Development

Let me say that again: a company becomes strong when every employee has the opportunity to develop their potential. I didn't realize how important it is for a company to help its employees grow. It's a simple principle, but it's incredibly significant. Companies that can provide growth opportunities for their employees are much more likely to succeed; otherwise, they will become ineffective over time.

Sometimes, employees are seen as insignificant parts of a large system or, even worse, as people who cannot be changed. When someone works for someone else rather than for themselves, they often view their job not as a means of self-realization but as a temporary occupation. From the very beginning, I speak openly with my employees. I explain that sometimes they can earn even more than I do. There is an advantage to being an employee – there's no risk of the company going bankrupt. Many businesses fail, and working for someone else can be more advantageous because it offers stable income with less risk. Often, entrepreneurs don’t make a profit in the first five years after starting a business and aren’t sure if their venture will succeed. Many employees don’t understand what it’s like to be an entrepreneur until they find themselves in that position. Frequently, they conclude that it might be better to be a strong manager rather than an entrepreneur.

Every year I would present our company’s development strategy to the employees and consider it essential. From 2004 to 2012, I did this twice a year, and then I got back to annual presentations.

Every leader should tell their employees what they plan to do, what their goals are, and the tools they intend to use to achieve them. It’s important to clarify what you expect from each individual.

A leader must share all necessary information with their team and encourage the system to grow. It’s the employees’ responsibility to ensure the growth of their department based on that information. It’s impossible for a leader to do everything alone. If people in the field don’t understand the extent of their responsibility and don’t adopt an entrepreneurial mindset, their departments will not thrive.

In Russia, the term "capitalization" is often misunderstood. Only a few companies go public; most of them even struggle to be sold. In reality, entrepreneurs are often unaware that they’re no longer independent. The main difference between owning a business and merely participating in one is its proper structure and the ability to sell it profitably. Otherwise, you might find yourself running a business that eventually disappears or goes bankrupt, leaving you with nothing. All your efforts would have been in vain.