When a problem occurs, conduct the discussion at two levels: 1) the machine level (why that outcome was produced) and 2) the case-at-hand level (what to do about it).

When making rules, explain the principles behind them.

Your policies should be natural extensions of your principles.

While good principles and policies almost always provide good guidance, remember that there are exceptions to every rule.

Understand the differences between managing, micromanaging, and not managing.

Managers must make sure that what they are responsible for works well.

Managing the people who report to you should feel like skiing together.

An excellent skier is probably going to be a better ski coach than a novice skier.

You should be able to delegate the details.

Know what your people are like and what makes them tick, because your people are your most important resource.

Regularly take the temperature of each person who is important to you and to the organization.

Learn how much confidence to have in your people—don’t assume it.

Vary your involvement based on your confidence.

Clearly assign responsibilities.

Remember who has what responsibilities.

Watch out for “job slip.”

Probe deep and hard to learn what you can expect from your machine.

Get a threshold level of understanding.

Avoid staying too distant.

Use daily updates as a tool for staying on top of what your people are doing and thinking.

Probe so you know whether problems are likely to occur before they actually do.

Probe to the level below the people who report to you.

Have the people who report to the people who report to you feel free to escalate their problems to you.

Don’t assume that people’s answers are correct.

Train your ear.

Make your probing transparent rather than private.

Welcome probing.

Remember that people who see things and think one way often have difficulty communicating with and relating to people who see things and think another way.

Pull all suspicious threads.
