Leading People Beyond Expectations: Growing your Company by Growing Your People

Today’s global business environment is filled with more competition than ever before.Now, managers must master more skills than ever. Being an expert in one’s businessdiscipline is not enough. Instead, one must step outside the standard patterns and＂think beyond the norm＂ and conquer other skills that are not easily acquired and oftennot taught in any university. Additional expertise can only come through the lessons ofexperience, observation, mistakes and failures.Allow me to share the expertise I’ve gained while in the metalworking industry for thepast 30 years. This journey has taken me through 12 positions--from stock boy to vicepresident of sales & marketing, allowing me to patent two products and co-author twobusiness books. During this time I was able to interact worldwide with companies inEurope, Japan, India, Canada and Korea. I also got a real glimpse into the overallworkings of manufacturing worldwide and especially in American companies.After graduating from college, I had no idea a summer job with a global manufacturingfirm in the metalworking industry would stoke my passion for leadership andorganizational dynamics. Even then, I believed that people are a company’s greatestasset. Once you learn how to tap into their unique abilities, you can elevate them toaccomplish things they never thought possible. Whether you are a CEO or a front-linesupervisor, one essential skill you must develop is Leading People Beyond Expectations.The CEO or supervisor is not unlike a professional sports coach who, like the corporatemanager, has the job of sorting out the skill level of his players and placing them wheretheir strengths will be most effective. As a manager you must evaluate not only yourpeople’s strengths and weaknesses but also your own. This knowledge will be invaluablein putting your strategic plan into effect. Understanding the people dynamics is essentialfor implementing each of the next steps in building your team-the team that bestsupports your business and you as its manager.