2. Keep our team (including your boss) informed of all the pertinent data and facts in your business; simplify the reporting of this information and make it easy for all of us to stay informed.

3. Whenever possible, gather real data and analyze it carefully before drawing conclusions.

4. Don't be afraid to admit you were wrong or accept blame, everyone makes mistakes.

5. Keep our common goal in mind as we work together as a team.

6. Check out ideas with as many team members as practical before proceeding.

7. Try to instill the same level of responsibility and commitment in your employees that you have.

8. When communicating, make your presentation as simple and as concise as possible so that the least intelligent or the least experienced among us will have no trouble understanding.

9. Never pretend to be in control when you're not...call for help when you need it.

10. Do not speak with authority unless you are certain that you are right; someone who hears you may know more than you do about the topic and then will never know when to believe you in the future.

11. Remember that all processes or systems have waste in them and can be improved; routine focus on process improvement can frequently lead to enormous savings even if no problems are being reported.

12. Provide the leadership for your people to create a culture of continuous improvement in their areas.

13. Always keep appointments...call in advance if there is even a chance that you might be late.

14. Stay organized...write things down that you need to do...never trust your memory.

15. Return all phone calls the same day.

16. Sell our strengths; do not focus on the competition's weaknesses.

17. Try to make it easy for our customers to do business with us.

18. Constantly think about ways to improve...share those ideas with all of us.

19. Try to listen to others' ideas before criticizing them or explaining why they won't work.

20. Drive out fear and try to create an environment where people at all levels are comfortable in speaking out freely.

21. Don’t be so concerned about making a mistake that you are reluctant to take action; a certain amount of calculated risk-taking is healthy. The person who never makes a mistake may not be doing much.

22. Set a good example for those under you: professionalism, organization, courtesy, initiative, work ethic, conducting meetings, follow-through, continuous improvement and punctuality.

23. Never hesitate to praise good performance...measure things that are important so that you can recognize when improvement is happening and provide positive reinforcement.

24. Try not to blame individuals for overall system failures...help the people improve the system.

25. Treat all persons with the same consistently high level of dignity and respect.

26. Always try to deliver more than you said you would.

27. Make your word mean something; do what you say.

--Delivering Value Well Beyond Executive Search--