The Tiger team was named in 1974
Text丨Song Zhiming (Chairman of Ogilvy & Mather Greater China)
01 Strategy: Integrate and build better Architecture
As the company gradually grows, it will encounter integration and architecture issues, such as systems, processes, responsibilities, approvals... If you are a supervisor, you still spend more than 10% on these things every day. Time, it means there is a problem with your and integration.
When Ogilvy was founded in China, there were about 80 people at that time. I knew all of them and knew their names. Every day after five o'clock in the afternoon, when there are no meetings, I can grab a bottle of Heineken, walk around the company, say hello, see the progress of important customers and proposals, see what problems there are, and what conflicts have arisen between the teams.
Walking around the company, you can have a clear idea of ??all the company's status.
Ogilvy founder Ogilvy said, "Go to employees where they are, don't ask them to come to your office." This had a great impact on me. I think a supervisor (or general manager ) The number of people directly managed should preferably not exceed 100 people (preferably 80 people). If it exceeds, it should be given to another person, and gradually become two teams.
After the team continues, it will encounter integration problems, so a horizontal integration structure will be generated, thus forming a matrix structure. Gerstner, the former chairman of IBM, said that the "matrix" is the most ideal structure that human intelligence can produce. Ogilvy has always lived in a "matrix" structure, and most people need to face at least two lines of reporting.
02 Evaluation and discipline, useless?
Evaluation and company discipline issues are issues that come back every once in a while.
The fact is that these two topics are very important and directly relevant to everyone.
Performance evaluation involves whether employees receive promotions or salary increases.
Discipline involves daily work and rest.
Once Ogilvy entered China, there was no check-in system. We believe in self-discipline and self-love, and at the same time respect everyone’s daily life and family situation, so we have always rejected institutionalized management.
The "creativity" required in this industry of freedom is that you can come up with good solutions on the toilet, or you may come up with ideas while dreaming or in hospital, but there is an iron law, you must always be found. Yes, you must be on time for meetings, deliver documents on time, and hand over good things at the same time.
Freedom is a value because we believe that relaxation produces different solutions.
If someone wants to use this principle to evade responsibility, the supervisor must know that if he does not change after several times of persuasion, he must be asked to leave, to prevent bad money from driving out good money.
03 The Crucial Few: Core Team
Regardless of size, every company will have a core team to ensure the company's operation and development.
The heroic era of relying on one CEO to save a company is over, and Jack Welch of General Electric may be the last one. I often meet with the core team members of the branch, and I can basically judge the company culture and operating capabilities.
In addition, I will often ask: What percentage of your personal salary costs account for the core team? What percentage of your company's total salary costs does your core team have?
Someone asked: "What is the correct ratio?" I replied "I don't know. But this ratio reflects your business strategy, yourself and your role in the core team, or the impact on The role of the overall company. ”
Generally, the core team of a company is about 6 people, and in larger companies, it may be 10 to 12 people. Someone has studied that the maximum limit for a person to directly lead team members is 12 people. Everyone’s time is limited. Managers should spend at least half of their time facing customers and external competition, and the other half of their time facing internal improvement and people matters. This is a healthier operating situation.
The core team is a very close group. Most meetings are informal, but formal and rhythmic meetings (i.e. meetings) are necessary to discuss the execution of the company's strategy, important changes, customer operations, and financial status. Wait to ensure the company moves forward.
Formal meetings or casual conversations are just as important as informal ones. Formal teams and informal or organic groups are equally important. Informal or naturally formed groups often achieve better results, and management should value and understand these groups.
04 Management or professionalism, that is the question
When the company gets bigger and bigger, you will encounter the dilemma of whether to choose "management" or "professionalism".
The industry relies on top professionals to come up with top solutions to help customers strengthen their brands and achieve sales. Only with enough and good professionals can a good company be built, but good professionals are not necessarily good Yes, some good professionals have no interest in the mundane matters of management.
After becoming a manager or supervisor, the higher your position, the higher your salary, and the greater your responsibilities. Professionals are only responsible for a small number of customers and cannot mass-produce. From a conventional perspective, it seems that management is the way to go.
But the industry must remember to avoid falling into the above myths.
Good managers can attract good professionals to join, give them a good environment to make good plans, and create an environment where they can express themselves freely.
Top professionals will also be eager to cooperate and work with top people. Competition is inevitable, but while competing, they are also learning from each other.
It is very important that professionals can be paid more than managers, as a courtesy to top professionals.
05 Do you want to report beyond the level?
Maybe everyone agrees that "tolerance" is necessary in management, to tolerate different opinions, different views or different personalities.
I think it’s a good thing that there are one or two people in the team who often contradict you. Try to listen to their ideas, discuss them, and reach consensus. This is not easy, but you must try your best to do it. .
But as a manager, you must also know your bottom line and let your team know it. In my 30-year career at Ogilvy, I have seen many talented people leave because they could not be tolerated or tolerate each other. This is a great pity.
When looking at people, you should look at their strengths, and then use their strengths to make up for their weaknesses in team building.
For me, tolerance is reflected in the "leap-level report", which is true tolerance.
Ogilvy has a good system. When employees encounter problems and cannot communicate with their supervisors, they can go to HR (human resources), and then HR will communicate with the supervisors to try to avoid this system. It has been working in Ogilvy for many years and the results are pretty good. (Many companies have also begun to set up professional groups with psychologists in the HR department to assist with internal communication)
Cross-level reporting is often mistaken for intentional and even labeled as a whistleblower. This is wrong. . At Ogilvy, cross-level reporting is allowed and encouraged, but there is an important prerequisite: the questions you raise will be fully relayed to your immediate superior so that they can work together to find solutions.
06 How to fire employees gracefully?
In the industry, it is healthy to maintain a turnover rate of about 20% a year. If there is a turnover of 20%, most of them are natural losses, including being poached, not liking the supervisor, going to other industries, or being unable to stand it. Our atmosphere, etc., are all flowing normally.
Of course, if it exceeds 20 or even reaches 40, it is abnormal. It means that there is a problem in the company's operation, which may involve "firing employees", and firing employees is related to "what kind of talents are there." They are the people we need”, which is also related to the company’s values.
Asking someone to leave is a troublesome matter. A responsible supervisor will face it on his own without resorting to manpower.
But you must make sure that you have given him the opportunity and time to improve, but the results are not good, so firing him is a good thing for him and the company. You must be honest and tell him that he will find a more suitable job, which does not make sense here. Don't want him to waste his time here.
In addition, when running a company, sometimes it is necessary to reduce personnel costs due to changes in the general environment or major customers. At this time, senior personnel (higher costs) should be started to think about who needs to be asked to leave and who should be retained. The right person.
I believe that being honest and open about this issue is key.
07 Office romance, is it sweetness or a trap?
"Office romance" is an interesting and troublesome issue.
In this industry, the working hours are longer, making it more difficult (only for relatively lazy people) to find a partner; at the same time, the nature of our work requires close and in-depth communication. In my spare time, I often invite friends to go to the bar to drink or go to karaoke to relax.
When I was in China, I was still relatively young. When there was a pitch, I would often work overtime with my colleagues until two or three in the morning, and then go to the dance hall to dance until I was sweating until four or five in the morning. , then go home to take a shower, put on a suit, and go to the place designated by the client to make a proposal at nine o'clock in the morning.
This kind of work and lifestyle often happens. It is obvious that after a long time, men's affairs tend to develop feelings. Therefore, there are many couples in Ogilvy and Mather. Someone once made statistics, and the data is higher than that of other companies. average.
In the early days, Ogilvy founder Ogilvy once wanted to put an end to this phenomenon and avoid causing management troubles. He set a principle: "After an Ogilvy couple gets married, one of them must resign." . However, after implementing it for a period of time, I found that young people could live together without necessarily getting married, so I gave up this principle.
I think we still need to stipulate some principles, such as: avoid being in the same group and avoid superior-subordinate relationships. If the above situations cannot be avoided, then both parties involved must be conscious, because no matter how fair you are, others will Colleagues will not completely believe it, especially when it comes to issues such as promotions and salary increases, which are even more difficult to deal with. This is an inevitable burden, which can also be said to be the price.
08 Customer Maintenance and Case Making
I have always believed that customers who come to us, whether through the Internet, by phone, or even directly come to the company, no matter how big or small, suitable or not, senior All personnel should be patient and have a good talk with customers. If it's not suitable, be sincere and tell them properly.
A good idea must first solve the customer's problem, and then cause a response in the industry. A small scale will cause a stir in the client's industry, while a large scale will cause repercussions in the entire marketing world. If you can consistently produce great ideas, customers will come to you.
Our industry is doing cases every day. How to accumulate cases is very critical. Regardless of success or failure, regardless of whether the customer passes or not, they must be accumulated and formed into a file so that everyone in the company can easily find relevant information. Cumulative cases may reduce the number of repeated proposals. If "duplicate proposals" can be improved, it will not only improve efficiency and save costs, but also greatly improve morale, and the things provided to customers will be better and better. Very few customers understand this key.
09 Training vs. Learning
Training has always been emphasized by Ogilvy and is also the most appreciated by everyone in the industry. When it was first founded, training was almost divine at Ogilvy, and both instructors and students had to go all out.
Training is mandatory and there is no excuse for absence, including client matters. At the same time, the training emphasizes applying what you learn, and what you learn is immediately used in actual work.
Ogilvy is a person with a research bent.
Ian Strachan from the Asia-Pacific region once sorted out all the thinking tools developed by Ogilvy and found that there were about 150 sets.
Thinking tools are very important for an individual. If everyone uses the same working language, communication will be easier, not only for internal operations, but also for explanations to customers.
With the changes in the general environment, a large amount of information is produced, and the speed of technological change is accelerating, standardized training seems to be too slow. Therefore, we must give the team the ability and channels to absorb and learn by themselves. study.
Of course, formal training is still necessary. Practical theory, attitude towards creativity, views on people, team cooperation, company vision and group culture-related issues should still be provided. Achieved by mandatory, standardized training.
10 People and Culture
Our industry relies on people and the right people to thrive.
New employees learn how to integrate into Ogilvy in the first half of the year. This is your ability or responsibility. After you are recognized, Ogilvy has the responsibility to help you grow (of course you still have your own responsibilities). As you get better and better, the company will try to clear the battlefield for you so that you can continue to perform.
Give the right people space and space to perform. Of course, the most important thing is to give you the right people to form your team. This is another big project, and doing it right will determine whether you grow and whether the company can continue to grow.
The stability of first- and second-level supervisors ensures the inheritance of culture, the reliability of work quality, and the sustainability of training.
Keep senior staff productive. Culture is gradually formed when people and problems are gradually clarified and a common understanding is achieved.
The above is related to the naming of the Tiger team in 1974, and it is a sharing about Ogilvy Group. After reading about which words are better used to name people born in the year of Tiger, I hope this will be helpful to everyone!