I’ve been reading this book called “Swanson’s Written Rules of Management”.  Written by William Swanson, Chairman and CEO of the Raytheon Corporation, this book contains 33 key points that has led him to his current role and status.   He says that he “compiled these thoughts and one day found occasion to use them what I was asked to speak to a network of young engineers and scientists about management lessons I had learned.  The feedback from the discussion was encouraging.  Thus ‘Swanson’s Unwritten Rules of Management’ began to take shape until they were truly ‘unwritten’ no more”.

This book is small in shape & form and is nice to keep at my lap drawer in my desk.  I pull it out every day and read one of his rules.  Although simple, they are meaningful and have instilled in me a sense of wanting to do things with integrity and professionalism, always.

The book used to be free and may still be free online.  I wasn’t able to find it after a quick Google search but if I find it again I’ll post a link so that you can request a copy.  One of the rules that has stuck in my head is his rule #4. Swanson states:

It is human nature to focus on what is in a presentation, but sometimes what isn’t there is even more important.

Always think about what’s missing; it’s amazing what you’ll find.

This is what leaders are looking for in individuals who are coming up in the organization. Are these individuals pushing the corners of the box? Are they energizing the team and its thinking?

This is something that I always think about. How can I bring good ideas to a meeting? How can I be a valuable player in this team? I don’t want to be the guy who just sits there and takes orders from everyone else, I want to be the guy questioning whether things were done properly and whether or not they could be done better next time.
I’m a fan of Swanson’s rules and hope that you can still find it and dedicate yourself to reading it one day at a time.