Boxing Clever

Robert Stanzione is the boss of one of the largest companies you have probably never heard of.
Mr. Stanzione is the CEO of fast-growing US technology group Arris. The company makes set-top boxes, and other pieces of hardware and software for digital television and broadband services.
Arris made the business headlines at the end of last year when it agreed a $2.35bn (£1.5bn) deal to buy the Motorola Home set-top box business from Google. In the US, the Arris name will increasingly be seen on set-top boxes as the Motorola brand is retired. In the UK, Arris’ technology is already used by the likes of BT and Virgin Media.
Mr. Stanzione said the Motorola Home deal highlighted Arris’ continuing ambition. “As soon as we heard rumours that it was going to be up for sale, we began to look at where it would take us, it will fuel our continued growth as a company,” says Mr. Stanzione. “We have tripled the size of the company over the past decade, and this deal sees us grow by that amount again. It is all credit to the team around me.”
Mr. Stanzione, 65, says he has a very simple but effective strategy for leadership – bringing in the best people to work with him. “Find the right people, keep them, and motivate them,” he says. “Let them know how important they are, and give them clear responsibility. I think that’s the key to success.”
These comments reflect a recent piece of research which suggests that the best leaders are those that build a work environment where the employees answer positively to these 12 Questions:
1. Do I know what is expected of me at work?
2. Do I have the materials and equipment I need to do my work right?
3. At work, do I have the opportunity to do what I do best everyday?
4. In the last seven days, have I received recognition or praise for doing good work?
5. Does my supervisor or someone at work seem to care about me as a person?
6. Is there someone at work who encourages my development?
7. At work, do my opinions seem to count?
8. Does the mission/purpose of my company make me feel my job is important?
9. Are my co-workers committed to doing quality work?
10. Do I have a best friend at work?
11. In the last six months, has someone at work talked to me about my progress?
12. This last year, have I had the opportunity at work to learn and grow?
The study showed that those companies that reflected positive responses to the 12 questions profited more, were more productive as business units, retained more employees per year, and satisfied more customers.
Without satisfying an employee’s basic needs first, a leader can never expect the employee to give stellar performance. The basic needs are: knowing what is expected of the employee at work, giving him/her the equipment and support to do his/her work right, and answering his/her basic questions of self-worth and self-esteem by giving praise for good work and caring about his/her development as a person.
The great leader mantra is don’t try to put in what was left out; instead draw out what was left in. You must hire for talent, and hone that talent into outstanding performance.
Mr. Stanzione adds that the best business advice he ever received was “keep the organization lean”, and use “small empowered teams”. It seems to be working for him so see if it will work for you…..