“You’re going to be working nights. You’re going to be working weekends to get this done,” Maxim Integrated Products CEO, Jack Gifford, said to the heads of the various business units of the company.
Gifford had come up with a cleaver marketing idea, and he wanted it implemented in a month instead of the three months it should take. At the time, our revenue was around $200 million per year on the way to over $1 billion per year.
Gifford recognized that the assignment would require extra effort to get done, so he decided to go the intimidation route.
I happened to be sitting next to Dave, who was running the power management group. Dave looked at me and quipped, “I’m already working nights and weekends. What else does he (Gifford) expect me to do.”
I nodded my head in agreement, laughed sarcastically, and said, “Me too.”
How you will inspire your employees to exert extra effort will depend upon your style and company culture.
Gifford liked to say he managed through a combination of “fear and greed.” The reality was his management approach was much more nuanced.
For example, the best piece of management advice he gave me was, “You need to understand…
