Two Percent Improvement

The Mellon banking family began their journey as a formidable business empire in the mid 1800's by Thomas Mellon, affectionately known as the 'The Judge.'

As the decade progressed and his sons became more involved in the business, Andrew Mellon eventually became the go to guy.

Andy, as he was known to family and close associates, was able to extend the reach of the family fortune to incredible levels of prosperity. His success was attributed to many aspects of business acumen, but more than anything it was his ability to choose and develop managers.

Keep in mind, this was the beginning of the industrial revolution and business people were figuring it out as they went along. They did not have the hiring 'know how' that is available for today's executive.

So how was Andy able to master this skill? Was it Mellon DNA? Is there a hiring gene? Most executives would say there certainly is not and that hiring and developing managers does not come easy. But if you have access to effective hiring tools and develop a thorough process, you will be able to hire and train more successfully.

In my last blog, I mentioned the vital functions of management: Planning, Organizing, Staffing, Delegating, Supervising, Measuring and Reporting. But how does a manager ever learn about these functions? And if you actually can grasp them, how do you eventually improve and how will you know these new skills will have a tangible effect on results?

I'm going to answer all of those questions in the next blog. Until then, I'll leave you with a recent, true story.

During this years US Open Tennis tournament, actor and funny man Will Farrell was in attendance and interviewed by CBS broadcaster and ex tennis pro, Pam Shriver. She asked him if his tennis game was getting any better and his answer, thinking he was being funny was, 'I'd say it's improved about two percent.' Ms. Shriver responded: 'If the players here can improve their game by two percent, it could mean winning the championship as opposed to bowing out in the first round.'

Have a great week,

Kevin