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When you think that the search for greater productivity and still maintaining quality standards has reached its limit, it is because you have not yet tested decentralizing power, giving more autonomy to the team.

When you choose to focus on the strategic activities of the organization, you make proper use of the human resources you have, and you also get rid of unnecessary work overload. To be able to carry out this process fully, you need to disseminate the principles, values and purpose of the organization, so that individuals can feel connected to it (when we visualize a value, a positioning or an “idea of life” of the company, which has synergy with what we believe, we begin to experience it in a different way, taking the work to the next level, where delivery and satisfaction due to performance are always present).

Therefore, the manager who decentralizes power and gives autonomy to the team guarantees results in the medium term. The consequences can be people who are fulfilled with their work, greater efficiency and quality.

High-performance companies require an active legal department, because the role, especially the way in which the modern lawyer operates, is different. A company's legal department must act preventively, participate in market strategies and act as an active consultant to the entrepreneur.

In practice, the professional works even before potential business meetings, accelerating the understanding of possibilities and preventing possible conflicting issues regarding laws, providing security to all departments of the organization, which reinforces the role of centralizer/propagator of information between the different areas of the company.

At this time, where the legal department is part of the company's core business, it is a fundamental arm in leveraging profitable business, contributing to the expected effectiveness of all transactions carried out by the company, whether internal or B2B.

In an article in Exame magazine, management visionary Jim Collins, during the HSM ExpoManagement event in São Paulo, stated that one of the biggest challenges facing companies today is the lack of reflection, of doing everything on autopilot, without fear of the business disappearing. This is a very risky situation, especially in an era marked by innovation and the speed with which changes in consumption occur.

“It’s not those who innovate, innovate and only innovate who win the market. The ones who win are those who know how to integrate creativity and discipline into an innovative product or service and, of course, have the scalability to reach the customer,” he said.

The most consistent companies are those, he says, that have their businesses based on passion, built through arduous discipline and empirical creativity. “Only with them do you have the willingness to do what is necessary and to decide efficiently on how to do it,” he said.

Collins also argues that a certain “productive paranoia” is also necessary for leaders. “You only learn from the mistakes that require you to survive. There’s no point in being afraid because you can’t predict where and when the next obstacles will come from, but you need to be prepared for when they happen,” said the visionary.

Some examples of companies that have survived and/or grown from a new idea include Southwest Airlines, which started with three airplanes, and Microsoft, which started with five employees. “They all had careful risk management and prudence. But they also had bold, big, ambitious goals to be very good at what they set out to do,” Jim said.

According to Collins, leaders always need to stop and reflect on their business and their own approach. Who are your leaders and mentors? How can you be a mentor to your employees or ambitious young people? These are some of the questions he suggests that need to be asked.

But there are 12 more, which he says are essential for anyone who wants to be a successful manager. They should be answered by the manager, entrepreneur and also by their employees and they are:

1-Do we want to create a great company and are we willing to put in the effort to do so?;

2-Do we have the right people in key positions? “Putting people in the right place is the hardest decision a leader can make and it needs to be made for the business to thrive,” Collins said;

3-What are the brutal facts? “That is, where and in what you still need to improve,” he said;

4-If our company disappears, who will miss us? “In this sense, the leader must also ask himself which people on his team have the ability to get back on their feet if necessary,” says Jim;

5-What is your 20-mile march? What is your personal motivation? How do you know if you are within it or not?

6-Where are we going to bet based on empirical creativity?;

7-What are the essential values that we will always follow?

8-What is the bold, big and hairy goal that we are going to set for the next 15 or 25 years?

9-What can kill us and how can we protect ourselves?

10-What do you need to stop doing to make room for this new focus?

11-How can you increase your return on luck? “Bill Gates didn’t have luck, but boldness, creativity, ambition, a great idea. And a little bit of luck,” Collins said;

12-Are we a level five management team and are we creating a level five culture?

Getting involved with something you love and believe in will bring you ultimate satisfaction, Collins says. “When you find the ideal partners to do something with you that gives you passion and professional fulfillment, you end up making a unique contribution to the world, making a difference for people. That is true success,” said the visionary.

Human beings are static creatures who always seek to enter and remain in their comfort zone. We love comfort, have inflated egos and many fears, which is why we close our eyes to the signs that life sends us and do not explore other forms of work. This leads to blindness to opportunities and ideas, which are later successfully developed by our competitors.

This ignorant innocence that affects us has an explanation: every process of change and achieving important things involves getting off your ass and going after problems. That's right, problems. If you want to see opportunities or create innovative products, you need to pay attention to problems, and I'm going to prove it to you.

When we don't establish the problem, we end up going around in circles and never finding an adequate solution, because we don't know what the issue is, precisely the factor that anchors the other topics of a research, such as the environment and the people involved. The client, who may even bring the "wrong problem", will never be satisfied, or worse, will not have their real problem solved. Therefore, it is necessary to conceptualize this challenge clearly for everyone involved in the project, if there are more people, so that everyone will move in the same direction.

When we face problems, we look at them differently, trying to find ways to simplify what is complex, to make things that are slow quick, things that are heavy light, to unify and combine what is separate, and many other situations that we normally do not pay attention to, pretending we are not seeing, getting used to the wrong and more complicated way of carrying out activities. This is where we are restricted from changing, even if it is for our benefit.

All of humanity's brilliant ideas, as well as all those that are not brilliant but are incredibly useful in our daily lives, were created from problems, from discrepancies between the result obtained and the expected result, on any type of topic. There is no miracle formula and the proof of this is that, nowadays, few things are actually invented/solved (back in the day, Einstein, Tesla, Edison and their gang didn't have the fashionable x, y, z method, but they did have a vision for the problems, as well as a willingness to put their heads down and work, in other words, they took action).

There is no ideal formula because when the problem is structured and you start thinking inventively, the process feeds all the action. You will immerse yourself in it, you will experience the issue… and suddenly, everything around you will become a reference. This entire journey that you will take is because, first, you looked at the problems, and in silence your mind worked on that issue, calibrating your reasoning, making you research and understand more and more about the subject, giving you the confidence to move forward, awakening your curiosity – and then you have in your hands factors that allow you to achieve something great.

The consulting firm PwC released a report stating that, in Brazil, more than 80% of companies are family-owned. However, other studies by the same organization show that only 12% of family-owned companies reach the third generation, and only 1% reach the fifth. This case is mainly due to the lack of a governance plan, and consequently respect for this document of standards by its members. Such disorganization causes disputes and conflicts, which naturally have an impact on the company's operations.

Among family businesses that have been in operation for a longer period of time, one practice is a prerequisite: the adoption of a governance system that clearly distinguishes between owners and managers. In other words, heirs are in fact the owners of the company, but do not necessarily manage it. After all, this task depends on specific technical skills, which are not always found in the family group.

In the end, it's all a question of expectations, because when there is clarity about the parameters regarding profit sharing, prospects for advancement in internal positions, and business direction, tempers tend to calm down, avoiding the weakening of family ties and many other conflicts that can prevent the company from prospering.
Seeking to adopt governance systems will only make the market see the movement in a positive light, whether it is the professionalization of people, processes and general business management policies. As if that weren't enough, with the general improvement in organization and image, your family business tends to be more attractive to young talents, with the potential for innovation and adaptation to changes in scenario and technology. With the right corporate governance strategy, family businesses can be successful.

Any process of change is only possible through people. Therefore, during this process, everyone involved must be aware of what will actually be done, as well as the extent of their responsibility, and the entire process must be implemented, in fact, through open, free and transparent communication.

Conflicts are inevitable, and all resistance created must be overcome. There is a need for transparency, to be accessible, to remember that people like to be petted, that they also have egos, but that there is no need to pat them on the head. Simply telling the truth and letting them know the risks can be a good alternative.

In the process of change, it is important to have a 'leader', someone responsible for managing and driving the change, ensuring that things are done within the stipulated deadlines, that commitments are met and, in addition, that they drive the internal transformation process so that everyone involved understands and feels effectively in charge of this change. It also means making every possible effort to make the change happen effective.

Much of the 'manager's' time should be spent talking to the people involved about the need for change. He or she should explain what needs to be changed and what each person should do to collaborate in the process. In addition, he or she should show that individual and professional growth are closely related to the ability to adapt to the new and, most importantly, to make them feel like "agents" of change.

It is important to keep in mind that change management is a multidisciplinary action, which must involve all aspects of a company so that procedures can be implemented, new alternatives can be adopted and, most importantly, people's resistance to change, which requires special attention and, if not approached appropriately, can compromise the entire process.

Change is not achieved by simply introducing new elements, such as processes and technologies. The central focus of change needs to be people. Otherwise, it will not happen.

Text: Andre Silveira

Negotiating is a common practice in everyday life and in professional life. Executing plans and strategies are the biggest challenges in today's business. Adjusting priorities based on strategies and plan execution seems to be a never-ending battle.

Based on these questions, author Chris McChesney, among other leaders, developed a methodology called “The 4 Disciplines of Execution”, with the aim of developing leaders with the purpose of making changes in all those involved in an organization. The objective is to define an essential goal, focus on a direction, create a tool that will encompass the participants, generating engagement behaviors throughout the team.

For efficient business management, it is necessary to clarify a strategic plan. However, to put it into practice, it is essential that each manager is well aware of their roles and limits. This will provide the indispensable support for the success of the organization, as it will highlight the reason for its existence.

When we talk about productivity, what tools can we use, which apps are interesting, how do I control and divide my time? Many, many techniques that are of absolutely no use if you are not in balance with the pillars of productivity:

Body
Your physical structure, which supports the entire complex organism of cells, nerves, muscles, organs and, most importantly, protects your large brain mass. It plays a vital role, because if it is not in harmony, it will affect your performance. It is the back pain when sleeping or sitting, it is that feeling of tiredness all the time, the suffering when moving. Those who do not take care of their body will suffer.
Forget about aesthetics, focus on training so that your MOVEMENT is beautiful, so that functioning is unrestricted. Grace is in the feeling of being prepared for battle, and this is the perception when practicing regular physical activity, when stretching several times a day, lubricating your gears, creating the effect of continuous energy propulsion.
Stay focused. Stay strong and stay productive.