Warrior Management

Warrior Management

Brad DawsonManaging Director

LTV Dynamics

Thank you to our session sponsor!

Genghis Khan – Business Genius?• Recognized as one of the

most successful world conquerors (1162-1227)

• Instituted practices, rules, and operational philosophies that are relevant today for business success

• What would be the impact to your business if you adopted the “way of the warrior”?

Presentation Topics

• The Warrior Management Principles

• The rationale of using each principle in the context of your business

• The benefits/downsides of implementation

• Are you an effective conqueror?

One Objective at a Time“Throughout his life

Genghis Khan eliminated his

opponents one by one. He never neglected to bear in mind the ever-changing balance of power with which he

was regularly threatened.”

“Genghis Khan, Conqueror of the World”

Leo De Hartog

Traditional strategic plans focus on completing a

myriad of objectives – most

that never get accomplished

One Objective at a Time

A 70% sales win rate is considered

“exceptional”

One Objective at a Time

Customers are captured but never fully leveraged – most businesses only realize 6% of their potential

revenue

Time

$$$

Revenue Potential

Capacity

Actual Revenue

One Objective at a Time

The majority of mergers and acquisitions fail to achieve any

level of anticipated success

One Objective at a Time

• Strategic plans should have no more than 3 objectives for any stated period

• Business development resources should only be consumed for opportunities that will yield a 100% win rate

• Customers should be “put on” a product/services continuum that seeks a destination

• Acquisitions occur for a single purpose – what is it?

One Objective at a Time

Keep the Culture Strong

“He took the standpoint that, if he wanted to remain in power, it

was necessary to have available a central

position on which his subordinates could fall back and from which radiated the essential unifying

strength.”

“Genghis Khan, Conqueror of the World”

Leo De Hartog

Tele-working, independent contractors, and multiple office locations have diluted corporate

culture

Keep the Culture Strong

No “safe” spot for

employees

Keep the Culture Strong

It is all about short-term productivity

Keep the Culture Strong

• Define your business culture• Eliminate the use of independent

contractors – except for pure support functions

• Insist on face-to-face interaction with employees – providing them with an inviting environment

• What is the “value proposition” for your employees? Beyond a paycheck, why should they work for you?

Keep the Culture Strong

Protect the Core

“Other measures to which he gave

particular attention were the protection

of subsidiaries following a military unit with food and

equipment, and the training of horses.”

“Genghis Khan, Conqueror of the World”

Leo De Hartog

Employee training, paying health care

insurance premiums, and childcare

reimbursement have been taken away in response to short-

term profitable objectives

Protect the Core

Cuts in marketing, research and

development and competitive

research limit effectiveness of

sales staff

Protect the Core

Organization operates at a competitive disadvantage

Protect the Core

• Protect the support functions that allow employees to focus on business productivity

• Fully equip your “teams” with effective information, up-to-date tools and supporting documentation

• Operate at a competitive plateau – not trying to make “do” with existing resources

Protect the Core

Infinite Patience

“Moreover, he possessed the

patience to bide his time”

“Genghis Khan, Conqueror of the World”

Leo De Hartog

Decision making is based on internal

returns on investment (ROI)

Customers are unable to quantify the value of your products and

services (your ammunition)

Infinite Patience

And there is literally no understanding of the competition or economic environment

Infinite Patience

While infinite patience is a business virtue, the inability to act when

the conditions present themselves also

results in negative consequences

Infinite Patience

Research

Release

RewardReinvest

Review

The Business Cycle

Share the “Booty”

“He was discovering what other leaders had found

out before him, and others not yet born would learn – that the ready acceptance of the ruler by the ruled

depends upon the degree of happiness which only an

increasing scale of rewards can bring.”

“Genghis Khan- The Rise, Authority and Decline of Mongol Power”

Peter Brent

A caste system exists in American

business where CEOs take a

predominant share of corporate profits for compensation

and limit the distribution for rank

and file.

Share the “Booty”

Not sharing the “booty” has a

negative impact on employee retention

and a desire to increase work/life

balance

Share the “Booty”

Long-term corporate growth is interrupted

when CEOs (and other senior leaders) take

an inordinate amount of profit for themselves.

Share the “Booty”

• Create compensation structures that share greater proportions of the spoils

• Don’t limit upside compensation• Let’s not kid ourselves – people work

for the money

Share the “Booty”

Adapt to the Environment

“Chingis created nothing new. He only understood

with true remarkable insight the meaning of the

changes taking place among his people,

speeded up those changes through his impetuous energy and genius, and gave them final form.”

“Genghis Khan”Ralph Fox

Businesses follow staid

and predictable strategies

and tactics – regardless of

the situation.

Adapt to the Environment

Try to re-use previous success

tactics – silver bullet theory

Adapt to the Environment

There are no such things as “tried and true” business strategies

Adapt to the Environment

Technology

OrganizationOperations

Environment

Strategy

The Corporate Component Model

Single Language

“Even before the time of Genghis Khan the Mongol

tribes possessed a common law, which was unwritten

and showed some variation among the existing tribes.

As the overlordship of Genghis Khan extended, the need arose for laws applying to the whole

empire and with it the need for a binding legal code.”“Genghis Khan, Conqueror of the World”

Leo De Hartog

Strategy directives from the Board are mangled down to mid and

lower level employees

Single Language

People “hear” things based on their predisposition

Single Language

CRM systems have a problem with definitions of customers – again causing problems with firms with

dispersed sales forces

Single Language

• Develop templates for certain sales and operational activities

• Eliminate “individual expression” at the operational level – recognize its value during strategic discussions

• Correct mis-interpretations immediately

• Don’t foster renegade practices – even if appear effective

Single Language

Insight into Human Character

“Genghis Khan chose the future officers for his army with an astonishing insight

into human character. Moreover, he appointed all

of them with almost infallible precision to the post for which they were

best suited.”

“Genghis Khan, Conqueror of the World”

Leo De Hartog

Most organizations hire individuals based on

their past experience – even though the stated accomplishments were achieved in a “team”

environment

Insight into Human Character

Often, employees are hired to fill only the requirements of an open position

with no accord to potential future advancement

Insight into Human Character

Do you know the right characteristics to be successful in your

business?

Insight into Human Character

• Develop a list of characteristics that are important for employees to be successful in your business

• Develop career paths for each individual striving for a technical or managerial destination

• In many cases, you are hiring your future owners

Insight into Human Character

Final Thoughts“Genghis Khan had set out to dominate the world; for all his

understanding, even his wisdom, he never realized that it

is not by warfare that one dominates vast populations, nor

even by firmly benevolent administration – it is by ideas, by beliefs, by the tangibles of

human communication.”

“Genghis Khan – The Rise, Authority and Decline of Mongol

Power”Peter Brent

“In all his career one can feel for him the same mingled disgust and admiration one feels for the founders of great capitalist

enterprises of the last century, men who also stopped at nothing,

ruined their enemies gleefully, men who organized great empires also,

empires of steel and power and publicly always preached caution,

moderation and sobriety.”

“Genghis Khan”Ralph Fox

Final Thoughts

Speaker Contact Info:

Brad DawsonLTV Dynamics703-753-2886

BLDawson@LTVdynamics.com

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