Want to learn the ideas in High Output Management better than ever? Read the world’s #1 book summary of High Output Management by Andrew S. Grove here.
Read a brief 1-Page Summary or watch video summaries curated by our expert team. Note: this book guide is not affiliated with or endorsed by the publisher or author, and we always encourage you to purchase and read the full book.
Video Summaries of High Output Management
We’ve scoured the Internet for the very best videos on High Output Management, from high-quality videos summaries to interviews or commentary by Andrew S. Grove.
1-Page Summary of High Output Management
Overview
Management is a difficult task. Managers are expected to be everywhere at every time, listen to their employees and speak with them, plan workflows, motivate their staffs and enhance overall performance. However, how can one person master so many tasks? In these key points you will learn what a manager’s responsibilities are and what he or she needs to know about employees’ skills and motivation levels. You’ll also learn the difference between management and serving breakfast; how to find out quickly whether an employee lacks skill or motivation; why managers may take a leaf out of a sports coach’s playbook.
Big Idea #1: Managing a company is like serving breakfast – it requires a sound understanding of production processes.
Working as a waiter will help you manage the production processes of a company.
Managing a production process is like serving breakfast. For example, if you’re in charge of delivering three-minute boiled eggs, toast and coffee, you have to deliver that product according to the schedule while meeting quality expectations and keeping costs low.
To make a good product, you need to keep the hardest step in mind.
In order to serve breakfast quickly, it’s best to boil the eggs first. All other steps should be planned around that task because boiling an egg takes longer than all of them combined.
Once you’ve identified the most important step in production, it’s your job to figure out how to do that step as cheaply and efficiently as possible.
A waiter has to wait in line every morning to use the toaster. He could ask a coworker for help, prepare toast in advance or buy another toaster.
Managers have a crucial role in businesses. They identify and solve problems that cause bottlenecks. For instance, if an employee is sick and can’t work, the manager will find someone to replace him or her so that business operations aren’t interrupted. Managers also try to make sure they’re spending money wisely by balancing their options against each other’s costs.
But that’s not all; managers also need to find problems. Problems arise in production, so it’s important to fix them as soon as possible.
For example, if the kitchen ends up with a bunch of rotten eggs, it’d be better to find that out before they get cooked or served. This means it’s essential for managers to monitor carefully all production processes.
Big Idea #2: Managers need to know how to select production indicators and extract important information from them.
Managers will need to rely on good measurements and indicators. They should choose at least five of them every morning when they arrive at work. One way to do that is by looking at the sales forecasts, inventory levels and other important metrics.
Furthermore, she needs to know the condition of her appliances. If one of them breaks down during rush hour, it’s critical that she replace it before then.
It’s also important to have an update on the workforce, as it will help with finding replacements if they’re needed.
Finally, she will want to measure the quality of her food. She can do that by asking customers how they feel about their breakfast. This information is critical for making decisions in the future based on what people like or don’t like. However, it’s not enough to have this data; a manager needs to be able to extract useful information from it as well. One good strategy for doing so involves pairing two production indicators together—the number of breakfasts served and customer satisfaction ratings—to see if there are any correlations between them that can help predict what will happen in the future.
