The 5 Key Skills That Successful Managers Possess

Marketing Podcast with Dave Dodson

In this episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast, I interview Dave Dodson. He is on the faculty of Stanford University’s Graduate School of Business, where he guides students in tactical execution. He was a McKinsey & Company consultant and left to become a serial entrepreneur, where he operated six companies as CEO or Executive Chairman. 

Dave is also the co-founder of Sanku, a company that developed the only successful technology to fortify grains with lifesaving micronutrients in rural African mills. Sanku was listed by Fast Company as one of the “Most Innovative Companies.” and named by Time Magazine’s 100 Best Inventions.

His newest book The Manager’s Handbook: Five Simple Steps to Build a Team, Stay Focused, Make Better Decisions, and Crush Your Competition; will help managers, executives, and other business leaders interested in dramatically improving their ability to lead people and inspire loyalty.

Key Takeaway:

Have you ever wondered why some people are better at getting things done than others? Dave identifies 5 skills that these individuals have mastered in order to become successful managers: team building, setting and adhering to priorities, seeking and taking advice, being a good custodian of your time, and being fanatical about quality. These skills combined with one another can be learned and practiced by anyone, regardless of their inherent attributes or personality traits. Dave emphasizes that this is a how-to manual rather than just theoretical concepts. Each chapter focuses on actionable steps where the goal is to make readers acquire and apply these skills effectively in their professional lives to become better leaders.

Questions I ask Dave Dodson:

• [02:08] How do you define the term manager?
• [03:27] How’d you come up with five steps that you lean on as being the critical elements?
• [05:11] Can you mention the five skills in the compact organization?
• [06:28] What do you feel like you’re adding new to the genre of leadership books?
• [08:19] Can you explain this idea of hiring for outcomes and how that’s different than hiring for resume experience?
• [09:47] Please develop the idea of curing the digital disaster.
• [12:36] Where does a board or a mentor fit into a company’s structure or an individual’s structure?
• [14:05] You introduce the operating plan, can you please explain that?
• [17:51] So the fifth step is quality, how do you make quality a part of culture in organizations?
• [19:10] How would you recommend that people make the ideas in this book stick?

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This episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network.

HubSpot Podcast Network is the audio destination for business professionals who seek the best education and inspiration on how to grow a business.