Articles & Information

Take control - Give control - Get results. (Part 1)

Follow the herd (heard) into poor results and misery!

The ‘doom & gloom’ merchants continue to talk us into Dire Straits (unfortunately not of the “Sultans of Swing” variety, although it’s evident some people do expect “Money for Nothing”).

I can understand opposition supporters and commentators talking the situation down, after all, what better opportunity to ensure a change of government. I can also understand the so called news media for the reporting style they adopt – even if it does border on the irresponsible! What I find more difficult to accept is the acceptance of much of the business world to allow their destiny to be controlled by the tomfoolery of politics and events (however real) outside their control.

Regardless of what is happening all around us and what others have to say about it we can only be certain of one thing – if we allow outside influences to control our motivation and determination our businesses will suffer and we will help perpetuate the problem.

Focus on what we can personally influence.

Of course, nobody can deny that extra challenges do exist in our world at the moment and there is precious little we can do individually to alter the big picture. However, we can ensure that our personal position is not dragged along the same path. We can ensure that we protect our personal position by becoming more resolute, more determined and more focused on making our business, and the people in it all the more stronger for others weaknesses.

And are we really doing so badly? Or is it that we are coming off the back of an unrealistic period. And what is it that makes us think that we can go through life free of challenges and troubles?


Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life, and when it comes, hold your head high, look it squarely in the eye and say, 'I will be bigger than you. You cannot defeat me.'
Ann Landers


This isn’t the first time the UK has faced financial and political turmoil which results in challenges for businesses of all types and sizes – and I doubt it will be the last!

I am not a political commentator and so I will refrain from seeming to give advice to Gordon Brown (although someone needs to). There are though parallels that we in business can use to avoid some of the mistakes he and his team in UK plc have made and are making in the way that they manage the organisation:

The right kind of leadership.

"The key to successful leadership today is influence, not authority."
Ken Blanchard.

At times of challenge (well, anytime actually) it is up to the leaders to fulfil their responsibility to lead. Our staff, colleagues, clients, suppliers, indeed everyone we come into contact with, need the support, motivation and direction of good leadership and if I were to give the prime minister some advice to help him achieve good leadership for the country it would be along the lines of:

1. Stop believing you should control every aspect of every eventuality.
2. Stop believing that people require rigid rules to act correctly.
3. Stop trying to satisfy every minor group’s demands.
4. Stop producing rules for the majority because of the actions of a minority.
5. Allow people to have some enjoyment in their life.
6. Allow people to be accountable and responsible for their own actions.
7. Trust people to have initiative and ability.
8. Give people the encouragement and motivation to use their initiative and abilities.
9. Understand the value of reward and recognition.


I would give these points of advice because I see Gordon Brown, like so many other leaders of so many organisations, large and small, making these mistakes with the people they represent/control/employ. The results are always the same; disloyal, unmotivated, undirected, unhappy, uncooperative unproductive and under performing people.

Think of it in this context. Even in the best of times, we need to create an environment which gives each individual member of the organisation the desire and motivation to perform at their best. Whatever the state of the country at the moment there’s not many people looking forward and getting on with sorting it out – and in a business run and controlled in the same way the results would be exactly the same.

A couple more quotes to think about:

"If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader. John Quincy Adams

"The quality of leadership, more than any other single factor, determines the success or failure of an organization." Fred Fiedler and Martin Chemers.

I would add one last thought: The quality of leadership relies in the main on the ability of the leader to communicate with the people he leads. 

In the next part of this article we will look at the 9 points above specifically related to a business.




« Back to articles