In this post, I'd like to introduce you to High Output Management, which is by far, the best book on leading teams that I've ever read. I might even take this a step further, this is far and away, the best book on management I've ever read.
High Output Management
In the rest of this post I'd like to explain a bit more about the author, Andy Grove and highlight some key learnings found in the book. Don't treat this summary as a substitute for the book. You need to go buy it. If you'd like to listen to part of the book, here's the audio book:
Grove refers to the value of indicators with the black box. In order to understand what's going on, the indicators are like cutting holes in the box, giving better insight into what's going on (as well as what we can expect the output to be).
The foundation of production concepts is super helpful when Grove talks about managerial leverage, as he's applying taking tangible concepts and applying them to intangible activities like management activities.
In another chapter, Grove provides a framework for making decisions (and handling disagreements). Once again, the timing of this chapter matters, as the previous chapter he discussed mission-oriented meetings, in which decision-making is one of the key outputs.
One of the reasons why I love High Output Management is because Grove breaks things down into easily understandable building blocks. There's no b.s. or fancy language you might see in another management book. There's so much substance packed into every single page.
Here's the takeaway. The style of management you use varies depends. There is no "one-size fits all" approach. It's perfectly fine to be hands-on with one person (in a particular scenario) and be hands off with another.
If there is one management book you should read, it is High Output Management. A lot of GitLab policies are directly from the book. Managers can learn that the most challenging aspect of management, is managing their time to make decisions and achieve results. This book will teach you how.
A topic covered in High Output Management is for managers to choose Key Performance Indicators to help their team achieve results. Managers are responsible for ensuring their teams have KPIs linked to the company OKRs. Managers can also create both team and individual KPIs to measure what gets done. If people leaders set a goal around a desired outcome for their people, the chances of that outcome occurring can be higher; simply because you have committed to managing and measuring direct report progress towards it.
Over the years, I have come to consider High Output Management a true masterpiece, and there are at least three core aspects to its genius. First, in as little as one sentence, it lucidly explains concepts that require entire books from lesser writers. Second, it consistently uncovers brand-new management ideas or finds new insights in old standards. Finally, while most management books attempt to teach basic competency, High Output Management teaches the reader how to be great.
The book has an entire section dedicated to an often neglected, but critically important management tool: meetings. Andy makes us see this oldest of business principles in a new light. He teaches meetings from first principles, beginning with how to conduct a one-on-one. It seems incredible that the CEO of Intel would take the time to explain how to have a one-on-one.
In this fashion, the book quickly gets to the heart of complex issues. It raises and deals with the stickiest management issues. Andy asks the question of whether you should be friends with the people you manage:
I have never met anyone other than Andy Grove who would have a story like that. He uniquely balances the highest standards for clear thinking and performance with an undying belief in the underlying person. Who else would require so high a bar for writing that you had to be good enough to fit on his one bookshelf and still be so touched by the fact that you wanted him to read your work that he would save the page that you inscribed?
Andy Grove, pictured below, is one of the greatest CEOs ever. He co-founded Intel and grew it to over $20 Billion in revenue over a 30 year run as CEO. His approaches to leadership and management are legendary.
Be great no matter what's happening in the rest of your company. Don't use the failings of those around you as an excuse; great management will make your team follow you anywhere you go.
If you produce solid results (and good management will help you do so), in most cases your company will give you leeway to continue what you're doing, even if it's not standard in the company. Don't wait for permission to be a good manager for your team; take the initiative yourself. Your team will thank you.
Further Reading: Stuck fire-fighting too often? Learn how to break the vicious cycle of reactive management here. Then, work on your listening skills here to hear (and fix) issues sooner.
Further Reading: Accountability and measurement start with managers. Learn how Google measures their managers here, and get your own Manager Score here. And learn how Bill Walsh led the San Francisco 49ers to 3 championships by setting clear, high standards here.
Managers must ruthlessly manage their time. Consider it an investment (Grove, even in writing the book in 1983, valued a manager's time at $100/hr). Avoid being in constant, reactive management and focus on priority management, not time management.
When you know your strengths, and those of your team, you can actively match work and delegate your own tasks in ways that get your team doing what they're best at, setting up your team to perform at a high level.
And lucky for all of us, he's written numerous books on the key concepts he felt made his company successful. The most famous of those books is his management tome, High Output Management. The book covers a variety of topics hugely valuable for any manager, which is why people have raved about it like this:
"The answer is the job- or task-relevant maturity of each of your subordinates. In other words, how much experience does a given subordinate have with the specific task at hand?...the most effective management style instance varies from very close to very loose supervision as a subordinate's task maturity increases."
Too often, we hear of experienced team members promoted (especially to new management roles) who are left unsupported and feeling abandoned. As a consequence, many of them become disengaged and even quit.
Do not mistake previous "Task-Relevant Maturity" for instant comfort and success in a new role. Adjust your one on one frequencies according to skill and comfort in the their current role and you'll be a management pro like Grove.
Andy Grove is a legendary leader who shares dozens of great ideas you can apply in High Output Management. The ideas we've covered above about one on ones are only a small section of the book, so we highly recommend you pick up a copy for yourself to learn all of his lessons.
Ben Horowitz, a leading venture capitalist, modern management expert, and New York Times best-selling author, combines lessons both from history and from modern organizational practice with practical and often surprising advice to help executives build cultures that can weather both good and bad times. What You Do Is Who You Are explains how to make your culture purposeful by spotlighting four models of leadership and culture-building.
Managing people is difficult wherever you work. But in the tech industry, where management is also a technical discipline, the learning curve can be brutal - especially when there are few tools, texts, and frameworks to help you. In this practical guide, author Camille Fournier (tech lead turned CTO) takes you through each stage in the journey from engineer to technical manager.
The value of any manager is the combination of the output of her team and the output of her surrounding teams. This means the top priority for every manager is to get more output from her team and surrounding teams. In theory, spending every hour increasing the output or the value of the output of the people they're responsible for. Where a manager's own skills and expertise are only useful if she's using them to get more leverage and output from her teams. To do this, she needs to consider what holds back employees from high output. Which comes down to either a lack of will or a lack of skill. Therefore, all that managers can do to improve the output of their employees and teams is to motivate and train. That's it, to motivate and train. Rinse and repeat.
1. A Manager's value is measured by their team's output + neighboring teams' output. Work is done by teams. And the value of any team is measured by its output. Therefore if a Manager is deeply knowledgeable and produces a lot of output herself, but her team's output is sub-par, she's not doing her main job of maximizing output from her team and surrounding teams. The book digs into details around systems design and production - talking inputs & outputs, quality control testing, and more - but the crux is crystal clear that maximizing team output is a manager's primary responsibility.
2. Therefore, a manager's #1 priority is getting more leverage from her people. Leverage is the output generated by a specific type of activity, so managers need to spend as much time as possible on the highest leverage, highest output-producing activities. Where specifically, the three activities that managers spend time on to drive leverage are 1) gathering information, 2) "nudging" others (e.g., asking a question or making a comment), and 3) making decisions (by far the least frequent part of the role).
38c6e68cf9