Know-How by Ram Charan

Know-How : The 8 skills that separate people who perform from those that don't
by Ram Charan

What the book meant to me:

Know-How to me is a giant skill, that combines leadership qualities (have the vision where the group should go, singular clarity on the single most important concept necessary to get there, picks the hedge-hog concept, etc.) with the skills of great management (reads peoples passions, skills, strengths accurately and matches them to a job they will succeed in, plays chess with future needs and human resources, captures efficiency by delegating a task to a specialist in the group, etc.)

So, if Know-How is the combination of great leadership and management, then it is the link between Buckinghams "One Thing You Need to Know to Succeed" and Jim Collins "Good to Great" Hedgehog leadership clarity.

Know-How is someone who reads the current market and future conditions accurrately, translates that to a "Where can we win?" question, and rebuilds everything to produce the next level of change needed: the social system, reporting and communcition, culture of being candid, openness in groups to new ideas, accountability. Success of the company is the most important thing, and other considerations take a back seat (egos, personal fear of failure, unnobtainable goals, group fears of change, etc.)

The beauty of this book is the way Charan explains that a group decision can be better than any single individual when solving an internal problem. External problems are probably best read by the CEO doing in depth research, investigation, probing, market watching, and setting up systems to follow key metrics, etc. Internal change is bought into when the right people are in the right seats in your 1st level group. You have evaluated them and placed them in positions of their strengths for their own and your groups success.

These key people together can solve their problems when they know everything the leader knows about how the future outlook appears and how the company can win. Realism, experience, and previous repositioning successes can help you gain credibility and opportunity to make these assessments. The group candidly, regularly, and under the tutelage of the leader forges the solutions.


The Eight Know-Hows
1. Positioning and Repositioning: Finding a central idea for business that meets customer demands and that makes money

2. Pinpointing external change: Detecting patterns in a complex world to put the business on the offensive.

3. Leading the Social System: Getting the right people together with the right behaviors and the right information to make better, faster decisions and achieve business results.

4. Judging People: Calibrating people based on their actions, decisions, and behaviors and matching them to the non-negotiables of the job.

5. Molding a Team: Getting highly competent, high-ego leaders to coordinate seamlessly.

6. Setting Goasl: Determining the set of goals that balances what the business can become with what it can realistically achieve.

7. Setting Laser-Sharp Priorities: Defining the path and aligning resources, actions, and energy to accomplish the goals.

8. Deatling with Forces Beyond the Market: Anticipating and responding to societal pressures you don't control but that can affect your business.


Personal Traits that can help or interfere with the know-hows:
Ambition: to accomplish something noteworthy BUT NOT win at all costs.
Drive and Tenacity: to search, persist, and follow-through BUT NOT hold on too long.
Self-confidence: to overcome the fear of failure, fear of response, or the need to be liked and use power judiciouisly BUT NOT become arrogant and narcissistic.
Psychological Openness: to bre receptive to new and different ideas AND NOT shut other peopel down
Realism: to see what can actually be accomplished AND NOT gloss over porblems or assume the worst.
Appetite for Learning: to continue to grow and improve the Know-Hows AND NOT repeat the same mistakes

Cognitive Traits that improve the Know-Hows
A wide range of Altitudes: to transition from the conceptual to the specific
A Broad Cognitive Bandwidth: to take in a broad range of input and see the big picture
Ability to Reframe: to see things from different perspectives.