Andy Grove, former CEO of Intel, wrote what many consider the best management book ever made: "High Output Management". Although written in the 80s, it is the basis of how companies like Google and Facebook operate (the OKRs came from here).
The Leverage Formula
Grove defines the production of a manager not by what he does, but by the output of his team. The formula is simple:
Manager output = Output of their organization + Output of neighboring organizations under their influence.
How to recognize leverage
This introduces the concept of Management Leverage. A manager should focus on activities that have the greatest multiplier impact on the team. For example:
- Training: 1 hour teaching 10 people improves their work for hundreds of hours to come. High leverage.
- Solve a support ticket by yourself: Solves 1 problem. Low leverage.
If you feel that you work hard but your team is not delivering, you are probably focused on low-leverage activities.