A Spartan's Guide to Business

This is an interesting article referenced from http://www.entrepreneur.com/management/article176006.html

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300 may seem like a bloody action movie, but it's also a lesson in creating a formidable and fearsome business.

By Geoff Williams
March 19, 2007


When the movie 300 recently debuted, making more than $70 million during its opening weekend despite having no big-name actors, Hollywood was stunned. Many people have speculated that what attracted the audience was the over-the-top violence, the naked women and the special effects.

Maybe that helped--a little. But director Zack Snyder's film about Spartans bludgeoning Persian soldiers in a fight to the finish is also a business parable.

No, seriously. If you squint a little--and you probably will during some of the beheading scenes--the story resembles what an entrepreneur often faces when competing against a big corporation. It also offers some insight into what it takes to be an effective leader, inspire employees and create a recognizable brand. And, yes, this film can be ugly, but that's sometimes the nature of the business world.

Business Lesson No. 1: Your CEO needs to be a strong leader.
King Leonidas is as resilient as they come, in both the film and the actual historical battle that took place in 480 B.C. between 300 soldiers of Sparta, Greece and the Persian army. Although Leonidas is a warrior, he treats his family and friends as equals. His wife, the queen, is a partner, and he's smart enough to solicit her advice when it comes to business matters. He also spends quality time with his six-year-old son, teaching him the business (i.e., showing the little bugger how to fight).

But when Leonidas suits up and goes to his day job--vanquishing bloodthirsty enemies with his spear and shield--he's focused on what's best for the business and his employees; in this case, the kingdom and his soldiers.

Sure, his competitor, King Xerxes, through messengers he sends to Sparta, makes some powerful arguments for combining the smaller organization with the larger corporation known as Persia. For instance, if the merger goes through, Leonidas would be allowed to live, and his employees wouldn't have to see their families enslaved or worry about getting their limbs hacked off. But while Leonidas appears to mull the offer over, he's concerned that his people's way of life (think office culture) and his freedom to make independent decisions won't be allowed to thrive.

He firmly declines the deal by spearing and then throwing a bunch of Persian yes-men into what appears to be a bottomless pit.

Leonidas next prepares to stop the growing threat of a hostile takeover. He seeks approval from some grotesque oracles (his board of directors) to take 10,000 Spartan soldiers to fight off the Persian army, but he is rebuffed. And so, like all good entrepreneurs, Leonidas finds a loophole. He informs fellow Spartan colleagues that he's taking a walk, bringing 300 of his top-flight employees as body guards, and goes off to complete his business plan--to fight the Persians at the narrow cliffs of Thermopylae and frighten the immense army into fleeing.

Business Lesson No. 2: Train your employees and foster a culture that promotes loyalty.
The Spartans had a grim but effective process for making sure their society only contained healthy children. (If you don't already know what that process was, you probably don't want to). To put it mildly, their organization only accepted the best and brightest employees, who were trained and molded into effective killing machines. It sounds gruesome, but it's handy when your business involves protecting your community from a foe that aims to crush you.

Arguably, loyalty may be the most important aspect of a successful team. At one point in the battle, Leonidas and Xerxes meet up. The Persian ruler tries to reason with his foe, asking how Leonidas can possibly defeat him when "I would kill any of my men for victory."

"I would die for any of mine," replies Leonidas, suggesting that an employee who knows he's valued is going to fight harder for the company's survival than a miserable grunt in the firm. The king has a point. His 300 men are effective at killing what must be thousands of soldiers in the first few hours of the battle. And it's not that surprising. Xerxes literally walks all over his employees; but in Leonidas' enterprise, his staff takes ownership and pride in the company and has a stake in the firm.

Business Lesson No. 3:You need to have a strong brand.
Leonidas is no fool. He knows that his 300 men and several hundred more Athenian soldiers who tag along can't completely destroy the Persian army, which outnumbers the Spartan force at least 1,000 to one. But he figures that if the Spartans live up to their reputation by ruthlessly and efficiently killing the Persians, the enemy might flee. In other words, Leonidas saw the Spartans as a brand.

Leonidas is an early marketer, fully understanding the power of words and images. When Leonidas and his men literally build a wall of corpses they know their enemy will see, it's an advertising message to the rest of the Persian soldiers that come their way: The Spartans are a company of men you don't want to encounter. They clearly hope the message will spread by word of mouth.

Later, the Spartan CEO tells his competitor, Xerxes, "The world will know that free men stood against a tyrant, that few stood against many, and before this battle was over, that even a god-king can bleed." And because Leonidas recognizes how important it is for the general public to understand the Spartans' unique brand of power and will, he sends a messenger back to Sparta to tell the tale of their fight. Leonidas appreciates that even if he and his 300 men don't win this particular battle, educating the public about the company will help the Spartan brand endure long after he is gone.

The brand, in fact, has endured so well that almost 2,500 years later Hollywood made a movie about this battle. If you haven't seen 300 yet, be sure to study these lessons and then go see them put to use in the movie. Do that and you may suck all the joy out of watching a blockbuster action movie--but you'll wind up with one heck of a business.

[轉載]<聯強EMBA>將帥無能 累死三軍

【杜書伍】

「將帥無能，累死三軍」這句話，大家應該不陌生。尤其身為主管者，更應該要深度體悟與銘記在心。

能成為一員將帥，一定是身經百戰，經驗豐富，所以並非沒有能力，但為何會累死三軍？其主要關鍵，在於將帥是以「系統思考」，還是「單點思考」，在統御他的大軍。

管理一個部門，就像統領一支軍隊一樣，是帶領一群人去達成部門的職責，而且要能持續、長期的發揮部門功能，並穩健提升部門績效。因此，所有的管理措施，都必須有一套完整的做法（就是系統），才不會顧此失彼；同時，部屬也因為有整套做法，不但學習容易，同時能夠逐漸融會貫通，進而靈活運用，產生最大的效益。

但是，一個缺乏「系統思考」的主管，卻習慣於「單點創意」、「見招拆招」的指示部屬「如何、如何做」，而未能預先思索新做法與原有的運作模式有何衝突。此種「單點創意」、「見招拆招」的想法，經常顧此失彼；當部屬依指示行事時，就會打亂原有的全套做法，使得原有系統亂成一團。不但把原有辛苦建立的運作模式摧毀，部屬也會易因指令與系統產生矛盾，無所適從而感到心力交瘁。

事實上，「單點創意」成效頂多只有一時，無法產生長期、持續的效益。而部屬卻要一而再、再而三的面對主管的「單點創意」，疲於奔命，「死而後已」，殊為不值。

管理一個部門的主管，也像是駕駛大巴士的司機。巴士駕駛每一次的轉彎、加速或煞車，並不能像飆車的賽車手一樣，可以瞬間、即興的操作；而是要顧及乘客乘坐的舒適度，漸進、平緩的進行切換動作。即使必須快速執行，也必須要預先提醒乘客，讓乘客從平穩的「狀態」（系統）快速轉換到合適的新狀態。否則，一而再的轉彎、加速、踩剎車，必然使乘客東倒西歪、暈車連連，迫不及待想下車。

所以，一個能幹、稱職的主管，想要突破、提升部門達成使命，而有任何新的思維時，應從思考如何改善、提升既有系統做起；假使改善既有系統無法解決問題，也必須重新建構一套系統，來讓部屬有一套做法可以依循。若是沒有系統運作的觀念，而獨立、單點的思考，其結果就是眾叛親離、一事無成。

還有一種狀況，是主管的「指示做法」雖然與既有做法並無衝突，但是長期下來，太多的指示使得系統變成非常的龐雜，導致部屬工作不勝負荷，也無時間思考。如此一來，仍會落得部屬顧此失彼、掛一漏萬，品質低落。

一個「系統思考」的主管，會了解做法龐雜可能造成的不良後果，因而有「總量管制」的觀念，所以在指示做法之前，會更深度的分析，那些做法是重複的？那些做法是低效益的？那些做法可以整合成更精簡？進一步去思索如何將龐雜的做法，精簡成簡單而又具成效的運作系統。如此一來不但效益大，部屬也可以更專注、落實的把事情做好。

從這樣的理解與認知，我們在評量一位主管的能力時，也必須要破除錯誤的認知：不要誤認為「積極任事、時有創意」的主管就是好的主管，而是要深度了解他是「單點創意」、「見招拆招」；還是「系統思考」，不斷的以運作系統的改善、提升，來顯現創意、突破現狀的主管。

因此，也提醒所有的主管，深度思索自己過去的行事作風，檢視自己是屬於那一類的主管。若部門無法長期穩健增強職能，更甚而忙碌、混亂、離職率高，則需先從自己檢討起，而不要只怪罪外在諸多原因。

（作者是聯強國際集團總裁兼執行長，本文取材自聯強內部管理課程主題「聯強EMBA」，更多文章收錄於「聯強e城市」網站）

When to leave and move on....

"When to leave?" is the question I am thinking recently. When is the right time for me, the startup, and all the customers?

To be honest, I have no answer to the question at this moment.

新公司

今年過了一個忐忑不安的農曆新年........

話說在公司政策改變的情形下，敝團隊面臨的是清算的命運。但幸運的是有金主願意拿白花花的銀子讓我們一塊築夢，也就是成立新公司然後拼IPO。

過年後，果不其然在領完舊公司(以新舊區分)的最後一筆錢，三月正式在新公司就職，但第一個禮拜是跟裝潢工人一塊上班，一樣看著電腦與打電話聯絡客戶，只是多了如工地般的叮叮咚咚背景音樂以及瀰漫在空氣中的木屑味。

好不容易第二星期看到煥然一新的辦公室後精神大振，但隨之而來的是新公司業務與營運上的種種問題，當然也包含的人員異動等問題。姑且不論營運上所遭遇的困境，大頭們對於提出誘因吸引原團對成員加入的作法，實在無法令人苟同。

薪資，是每一個人考量工作的第一個項目(因為還沒中樂透，所以只能為五斗米折腰)。每一個公司都會要求薪資保密，但有誰真的會認為員工不會討論薪資...........

所以啦！薪資是否制度化或是合理化是非常重要的，無論是同工不同酬或是同酬不同工，"不爽"會在員工的心中不斷長大茁壯，然後在公司最脆弱的時候給予致命一擊。我想新公司的大頭就認為他們照顧了某一批員工，但卻對另一批員工抱歉連連，不斷的說已盡最大努力，等公司賺錢就會想辦法補償之類 X@&%$?@Xx......... (老婆的公司也面臨相同問題，當努力或貢獻度大的員工發現他是廉價勞工時，那種挫折感或無力感是可想而知的)

我的觀念很簡單，除相關工作年資(也就是經驗值)外，依對公司的貢獻度來提供offer，這樣絕對不怕員工的薪資被討論。但是相反的，若當員工發生質疑時，說不出個所以然或是提出似是而非的理由時，就是公司受傷的時候了..........