Executive Warfare
Winning Your War for Success
by David F. D’Alessandro with Michele Owens
It's not enough anymore to be smart, hard-working, and able to show results – because nowadays everybody is smart, hard-working, and able to show results.
What really sets you apart are the relationships you build with people of influence. These people can include your peers, your employees, your organization's directors, reporters, vendors, and regulators – as well as the people directly above you in the organizational hierarchy.
In senior management, you no longer answer to just one boss. “Executive Warfare” offers concrete advice for handling all of them, including:
THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS: They won't judge you fairly if all they see of you are your PowerPoint presentations.
YOUR DIRECT REPORTS: These people are your vital organs, so treat them accordingly.
YOUR RIVALS: It's not always wise to shoot at them, but if you do, do not shoot to wound.
Why You Need This Book
In his bestsellers “Brand Warfare” and “Career Warfare”, author David D'Alessandro offered sharp advice for building a brand and building a career. Now “Executive Warfare” is the advanced class for the truly ambitious.
Attitude, Risk, and Luck: They Are the Most Influential Bosses
ATTITUDE: The Boss Within
It’s incredibly important to get your own head in the game if you intend to rise. If you are bossed around by your own greed, arrogance, or childish lack of discipline, you will give people reason to doubt you, and you will undermine yourself.
RISK: Slice It, Dice It, and If It Looks Good, Eat It for Breakfast
Higher management is all about handling risks intelligently and in a calculated fashion.
LUCK: Smarter Than Reaching for the Brass Ring Is Letting It Slap You in the Nose
Nobody gets to the top without being lucky. Luck happens to the most deserving of people and some of the most undeserving.
Bosses: You Need a License to Cut Hair, but Not to Manage and Control Thousands of People
The first rule of your relationship with your boss is to understand that it’s a business transaction. If you are willing to give the boss the truth, you’re probably going to engage in some spirited debate with your boss as part of the decision-making process. No matter how incompetent or unpleasant he may be, never tell stories about your boss. Never make the boss feel betrayed – unless, of course, you are ready to grab the boss’ job.
Peers: Understand That They Are Your Most Valuable Allies… or Your Most Dangerous Enemies
You can identify the consiglieri by their unfettered access to the boss. These are the people able to walk into the office of the executive director or president or CEO on a moment’s notice and just glide past the assistant, with or without an appointment.
Cultivating the consiglieri is not just a smart defensive move. The key thing to understand is that such a relationship only works if you are willing to be generous with the credit for your great idea.
CAREFULLY REMOVE ALL TATTOOS
Be smart. Place some of your trust in people who will tell you when your face is dirty, as well as when it’s clean.
Be discreet.
Anticipate cross-cut attacks that will make you seem sanctimonious or false.
If the rumor is a lie, calmly make the facts known. If there is a crumb of truth in it, though, be humble enough to admit it and see if you can’t improve yourself.
Rivals: Defeat Them with a Siege, Not a Coup
ALLOW YOUR RIVALS TO BE SHORT-SIGHTED. A lot of short-term rivals wind up being short-term by doing dumb things. So time is on your side. Relax and behave like a leader.
NEVER UNDERESTIMATE THE POWER OF THE POINTED QUESTION. You are subtly demonstrating how terrific you would be as their boss – and hopefully, planting this idea in the minds of the decision makers.
IF YOU CAN’T RESIST A SHOW OF AGGRESSION, MAKE SURE IT’S LETHAL. If you must shoot, do not shoot to wound. Finish the person off as a rival.
IF YOU ARE THE SNAKE IN THE NEST, STRIKE QUICKLY. Act quickly, before your boss’s paranoia has a chance to flower, because dawdling is dangerous. Your boss has more access than you do to the CEO and the board.
IF YOU LOSE TO YOUR RIVAL, EITHER LEARN TO LIKE EATING CROW, OR GO. If you do stay on as a loser, you generally either have to find another place to go within the organization that offers you another chance to rise, or wait out your rival’s tenure – five years, seven years, ten years – for a second shot at the job you wanted.
WITH FORMER RIVALS, IT’S KISS OR KILL. If you win the race, you either embrace your rivals or kill them. There’s nothing in between, because nothing is more dangerous than allowing the defeated to remain rivals.
The Team You Assemble: You Risk Your Reputation with Every Hire and Fire
The truth is that when you are the boss, it’s really hard to hire people unlike yourself, either in personality or in expertise. Why? Do it anyway if you think they are right for the job. Hire for candor. Look instead for seasoned, confident people, courageous people who will take the personal hit of telling you the truth rather than feeding you pleasant lies.
Develop a reputation as somebody who not only can build a strong team but also can bring in people who can build strong teams.
The People You Have to Motivate: You Are a Fool if You Think They Love You
You can get people to work very, very hard because they are proud of your organization or because they want your organization’s prestigious name on their resume. Sometimes what people need most is respect for the fact that they have personal lives. They are far more effective if they feel respected that way. You are winning people’s loyalty in action. Treat the people who work for you with respect and start building that loyalty today.
Outsiders with Influence: Be Wary, Be Right, and Be Prepared to Prove It
Make sure your people understand that if there is any hint of a problem, you’re to know about it. And if there is a serious problem, be prepared to get on a plane in order to soothe the savage beast.
If the client really counts, make sure that she has your home phone number, not just your cell phone. Say to that client, “If there’s a problem, call me any time.”
Help them solve problems, not just in their businesses and careers, but also in their lives. Treat them as human beings, and use your influence to help them.
Never lie to them. If your company has screwed something up, tell them you screwed it up.
Everywhere you go, there is a chance that you will run into somebody who has some influence with the powers that be in your organization. Random strangers to you are not always strangers to the people who hold your career in their hands. So it is smart to conduct yourself, in public at least, as if there is always somebody in the audience who matters.
Put yourself into position. Make it known that you want a revenue-gathering job. Don’t just raise your hand when a job comes up, when people are already thinking of other candidates. Raise your hand in advance.
Then dive right in. if it turns out that you have no appetite for the hunt, you can always come back to the staff job later.
Work out a plan in case you lose your job.
Culture: Before You Sign on, Make Sure it’s a Culture, Not a Cult
You must know the unwritten rules of your organization’s culture so that you don’t break them unwittingly.
Be sure also that the culture of your organization allows for forward motion – that it will give you the opportunities you deserve. If not, make a deft exit as soon as you can.
The New Bosses: It’s Not the Same Old Twentieth-Century Game
If you want to rise, you have to demonstrate leadership to many different audiences. These include the people above and below you in the organizational hierarchy, the people who are competing with you for the next job and those resentful because they cannot compete for it, the outsiders and insiders and shareholders and donors and disinterested observers only looking for a juicy story to alleviate the tedium.
In today’s world, you have to be alert to win.
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