Robert Townsend Page, 188 -119
One of the important functions of a leader is to make the organization concentrate on its objectives. In the case of Avis, it took us six months to define one objective which turned out to be: “We want to becoume the fastest growing company with the highest profit margins in the business of renting and leasing vehicles without drivers.”
That objective was simple enough so that we didn’t have to write it down. We could put it in every speech and talk about it wherever we went. And it had some social significance, because up to that time Hertz had a crushingly large share of the market and was thinking and acting like General Motors.
It also included a definition of our business: “renting and leasing vehicles without drivers”. This let us put the blinders on ourselves and stop considering the acquisition of related businesses like motels. Hotels, airlines, and travel agencies. It also showed us that we had to get rid of some limousine and sightseeing companies that we already owned.
Once these objectives are agreed on, the leader must be merciless on himself and on his people. If an idea that pops into his head or out of their mouths is outside the objective of the company, he kills it without trial.
Peter Drucker was never more right than when he wrote: “Concentration is the key to economic results . . . no other principle of effectiveness is violated as constantly today as the basic principle of concentration. . . . our motto seems to be: ‘Let’s do a little bit of everything.’ “
It isn’t easy to concentrate. I used to keep a sign opposite my desk where I couldn’t miss it if I were on the telephone (about to make an appointment) or in a meeting in my office: “Is what I’m doing or about to do getting us closer to our objective?” That sign saved me from a lot of useless trip, lunch dates, conferences, junkets, and meetings. Most of all, work on simplifying and distilling your statement of objectives.
One of the important functions of a leader is to make the organization concentrate on its objectives. In the case of Avis, it took us six months to define one objective which turned out to be: “We want to becoume the fastest growing company with the highest profit margins in the business of renting and leasing vehicles without drivers.”
That objective was simple enough so that we didn’t have to write it down. We could put it in every speech and talk about it wherever we went. And it had some social significance, because up to that time Hertz had a crushingly large share of the market and was thinking and acting like General Motors.
It also included a definition of our business: “renting and leasing vehicles without drivers”. This let us put the blinders on ourselves and stop considering the acquisition of related businesses like motels. Hotels, airlines, and travel agencies. It also showed us that we had to get rid of some limousine and sightseeing companies that we already owned.
Once these objectives are agreed on, the leader must be merciless on himself and on his people. If an idea that pops into his head or out of their mouths is outside the objective of the company, he kills it without trial.
Peter Drucker was never more right than when he wrote: “Concentration is the key to economic results . . . no other principle of effectiveness is violated as constantly today as the basic principle of concentration. . . . our motto seems to be: ‘Let’s do a little bit of everything.’ “
It isn’t easy to concentrate. I used to keep a sign opposite my desk where I couldn’t miss it if I were on the telephone (about to make an appointment) or in a meeting in my office: “Is what I’m doing or about to do getting us closer to our objective?” That sign saved me from a lot of useless trip, lunch dates, conferences, junkets, and meetings. Most of all, work on simplifying and distilling your statement of objectives.
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