Page 1 Page 2 Page 3 Page 4 Page 5 Page 6 Page 7 Page 8 Page 9 Page 10 Page 11 Page 12 Page 13 Page 14 Page 15 Page 16 Page 17 Page 18 Page 19 Page 20 Page 21 Page 22 Page 23 Page 24 Page 25 Page 26 Page 27 Page 28 Page 29 Page 30 Page 31 Page 3224 JUNE 2016 • FOGHORN BUSINESSMATTERS S everal years ago, Forbes Magazine named my lieutenant buddy Joe Dunford (lieutenant no longer, he’s now General Dunford and the current Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff) to their 50 most powerful people list. Joe claimed that he had learned the three most important leadership ideas from his first battalion commander. Joe said, “surround yourself with good people, and I forgot the other two.” Allow me to fill in my interpretation of the other two: (1) develop and live a service system, and (2) focus, laser- like, on your metrics to improve your business. Let’s examine the various types of leaders we find across businesses. Some companies are led by wild and crazy entrepreneurs that are sales people at heart. This is inevitable as attracting customers is the first, and often the hardest, part of business. In the dinner boat world, it seemed like we spent 90 percent of our emotional energy on sales. Other companies are led by CFOs. I bet we, as a nation, would like to revisit that emphasis given our collective focus on “shareholder value” while ignoring the long-term vision. Marriott and GE had human resources executives who are extremely powerful. And finally, there are the op- erations types who tend to focus on the running of the business. I remember 10 years ago asking Terry MacRae of Hornblower what percent of the time he spent running his business versus growing it. Turns out, he directed his energy primarily to new business de- velopment and raising capital; in a good year Terry worked on operations 20 percent of the time. Historically, I have spent nearly 90 percent of my time running the business, the sign of a classic operations guy. Agood operations leader splits their time between people and projects. They spend a lot of time with their people, getting immersed in the details of the business, knowing all members of the team, and providing a soft hand on the tiller (remember, you are growing your farm team so you have to let them learn, be in charge, and chart their own directions). The most important lesson I have learned about managing people and projects came from a 1985 restaurant show. In one session, I saw the then-leader of Domino’s Pizza say that no matter what, he always spent a disciplined hour a month with each subordinate. When people reacted, ex- claiming over how big a commitment that seemed, he retorted that if you don’t do that you’ll spend 10 times that hour just being in catch-up mode. For the last 30 years, every month, I ask each direct report or project team to Monthly Business Reviews By Bob Shaw, Industry Consultant 2570 Beverly Dr. #128, Aurora, IL 60502 T 630.236.3500 CENTA Power trAnsmIssIon LeADIng By InnovAtIon • USA based production • Over 20 unique designs • Over 16 million sold • Torsional vibration experts Trust CENTA – The Global Innovator Since 1970 CENTALINK Carbon Fiber Driveshafts Innovative flexible couplings for marine applications As a leader in passenger vessel design, stability assessments and refurbishments, our vessels are not only beautiful, they’re also safe and efficient to operate while producing maximum profitability for owners. To bring Jensen on board for your next passenger vessel design or build, contact us at 206.332.8090 or visit our website at jensenmaritime.com. Passenger Vessel Designs: OPtimizeD fOr PrOfitability