THE first step to becoming a really great business person is simply common sense; but common sense is not very common. This article suggests some common-sense ideas on the subject of great management, by real business gurus, real cases and interviews.

The major problem when you start “managing” is that you do not actually think about management issues because you do not recognize them. Put simply, things normally go wrong not because you are stupid but only because you have never thought about it. Management is about pausing to ask yourself the right questions so that your common sense can provide the answers.

When you gain managerial responsibility, your first option is the easy option: do what is expected of you. You are new at the job, so people will understand. You can learn (slowly) by your mistakes and probably you will try to devote as much time as possible to the rest of your work (which is what your were good at anyway). Those extra little “management” problems are just common sense, so try to deal with them when they come up.

Your second option is far more exciting: find an empty telephone box, put on a cape and bright-red underpants, and become a SuperManager.

When you become a manager, you gain control over your own work; not all of it, but some of it. You can change things. You can do things differently. You actually have the authority to make a huge impact upon the way in which your staff works. You can shape your own work environment.

In a large company, your options may be limited by the existing corporate culture — and my advice to you is to act like a crab: face directly the main thrust of corporate policy, and make changes sideways. You do not want to fight the system, but rather to work better within it. In a small company, your options are possibly much wider (since custom is often less rigid) and the impact that you and your team has upon the company’s success is proportionately much greater. Thus, once you start working well, this will be quickly recognized and nothing gains faster approval than success. But wherever you work, do not be put off by the surprises colleagues will give when you first get serious about managing well.

STARTING A REVOLUTION: The idea of starting alone, however, may be daunting; you may not see yourself as a David against the Goliath of other peoples’ (low) expectations. The bad news is that you will meet resistance to change. Your salvation lies in convincing your team (who are the ones most effected) that what you are doing can only do them good, and in convincing everyone else that it can do them no harm. The good news is that soon others might follow you.

LEADERSHIP: There is a basic problem with the style of leadership advocated in this article in that nearly every historic “leader” one can name has had a completely different approach; Machiavelli did not advocate being a caring Protector as a means to becoming a great leader but rather thought that a Prince ought to be happy with “a reputation for being cruel in order to keep his subjects unified and loyal”. Your situation, however, is a little different.

You do not have the power to execute, nor even to banish. The workforce is rapidly gaining in sophistication, as the world grows more complex. You cannot effectively control through fear, so you must try another route. You could gain compliance and rule your team through edict; but you would lose their input and experience, and gain only the burdens of greater decision-making. You do not have the right environment to be a despot; you gain more advantage by being a team leader.

A common mistake about the image of a manager is that they must be loud, flamboyant, a great drinker, golfer or a great socialite to draw people to them. This is wrong. In any company, if you look hard enough, you will find quiet modest people who manage teams with great personal success. If you are quiet and modest, fear not; all you need is to talk clearly to the people who matter (your team) and they will hear you.

The great managers are the ones who challenge the existing complacency and who are prepared to lead their teams forward towards a personal vision. They are the ones who recognize problems, seize opportunities, and create their own future. Ultimately, they are the ones who stop to think where they want to go and then have the shameless audacity to set out.

IT ALL BEGINS WITH A DIALOGUE: Leaders set the tone for their organizations. Those who can engender intellectual honesty and trust in the connections between people will be rewarded with companies that are energized and focused on execution.

REAL CASES: “Did MacDonald’s start the revolution in Singapore? Certainly it was one of the first to show that a smile and even an insincere ‘have a nice day’ can work wonders. All the fast food outlets who now cover the island have followed their example and offer good service with a smile”, says a marketing journalist. Nowadays, hotels around the region are surprising visitors with their level of service and good manners.

A recent stay at the Ritz Carlton in Bali revealed a standard that would be hard to match anywhere in the world. Each employee carries in their pocket a printed reminder of their duties. And they are instructed to serve anyone even if it doesn’t fall under their area of duty. If you ask the way to any part of the hotel, you are escorted right to your destination by which ever staff member you ask. With such a gorgeous environment and wonderful service, who would not wish to return.

Today, we have more seminars a week in Singapore on CRM than there are syllables in “my pleasure.” Trainers are enjoying a boom time with courses rapidly cobbled together to fill the gap. Many companies here are embracing CRM like a new religion. Hey, they cry, this is cheaper than brand building with expensive TV ads!

The dot com industry has been quick to see that it has a media ideally suited for building customer relationships. Software companies are busy developing CRM programmes while consultants in e-CRM have popped up everywhere.

The Internet does, of course, enable companies to respond quickly to customer queries. It also has the added bonus that it needs no extra manpower and gives the retailer/ manufacturer a chance to build up a useful database and conduct market research for free. Customers in today’s world are more demanding. It’s interesting that the Japanese, the other dominant race in Asia, had a totally different outlook.

Good service is part of the culture. But even a smile and “have a nice day” will not satisfy the consumer these days. Not only must the pleasure to serve be genuine but the product must reach high expectations and cost less.

TIME MANAGEMENT: When I was Protocol Officer in Karachi, it involved a lot of public dealing. There was a long queue everyday and it took the clerk five to ten minutes to handle each applicant because of the tedious procedure. I shortened the procedure resulting in a lower burden on the clerk and now it takes hardly a minute or two to process each case!

So take heart, management involves only good sense, not a genius.