Contents

Part I: Manager Profile Breakdown............................................................................................................2

A. Manager’s Responsibilities.................................................................................................................2
1. Product vision.............................................................................................................................2
2. Business Plan...............................................................................................................................2
3. Team construction......................................................................................................................2
4. Brand Management....................................................................................................................2
5. Business Development................................................................................................................2
B. Manager’s Skills..................................................................................................................................3
1. Planning.......................................................................................................................................3
2. Organizing...................................................................................................................................4
3. Coordinating................................................................................................................................7
4. Directing......................................................................................................................................8
5. Oversight.....................................................................................................................................9
Part II: Action Plan to improvement...........................................................................................................9
A. Theoretical Plan..................................................................................................................................9
Authors to read:..................................................................................................................................9
Sources for articles and case studies................................................................................................10
B. Practice Plan.....................................................................................................................................10
People to follow and look up to........................................................................................................10
People to work with and learn from their day to day Job................................................................10
People to learn with and ask for opinion.........................................................................................11

Part I: Manager Profile Breakdown

A. Manager’s Responsibilities
1. Product vision
a. Mission & Vision
b. Objectives
c. General action plan
2. Business Plan
a. Assumptions
b. Budget
3. Team construction
a. Identify company job needs
a. Identify key positions
b. Make organization chart
c. Create Job profiles
b. People management
a. Oversee recruitment & training
b. Motivate
c. Delegate
d. Empower
c. Evaluate performance
a. Define and communicate KPI’s
b. Evaluate team performances
d. Upgrade the team
4. Brand Management
a. Brand Orientation
a. Set up brand objectives
b. Define your product value proposition
b. Brand Strategies
a. Oversee communication strategy
b. Set up pricing strategies
5. Business Development
a. Identify Opportunities & Threats
b. Establish partnerships

B. Manager’s Skills
1. Planning
a. Critical thinking
i. For analyzing business problems
ii. For analyzing expenditures
Critical thinking is that mode in which the thinker improves the quality of his thinking by
skillfully analyzing, assessing, and reconstructing it.
Critical thinking implies:
 self-directed thinking
 self-disciplined thinking
 self-monitored thinking
 self-corrective thinking
 rigorous standards of excellence
 problem-solving abilities
 commitment to overcome our native egocentrism
How to develop a critical thinking:

 Raise vital questions and problems, formulate them clearly and precisely
 Gather and assess relevant information, use abstract ideas to interpret it
effectively
 Come to well-reasoned conclusions and solutions, test them against relevant
criteria and standards
 Think open mindedly within alternative systems of thought, recognize and
assess their assumptions, implications, and practical consequences
 Communicate effectively with others in figuring out solutions to complex
problems

b. Strategic thinking
i. For setting new business initiatives
ii. For research

Strategic thinking is a process that defines the manner in which you think about, assess,
view, and create the future for yourself and others.

How to develop strategic thinking:

 Explore and synthesize the internal trends in day-to-day work.
 Be proactive about connecting with peers and understand their observations
of the marketplace. Share your findings across your network.
 Understand the unique information and perspective that your function
provides and define its impact on the corporate level strategy.
 Look at information from different points of view. Seek advice from others.
 Add more structure to written and verbal communication. Keep things as
succinct as possible.
  Prime audience by giving them a heads up on the overarching topics you
want to address so they are prepared to engage in a high level conversation
 Practice giving the answer first, instead of building up to your main point.
 Focus on issues, not people, and use neutral peers to challenge your thinking

c. Entrepreneurial mindset

The entrepreneurial thinking is about the way in which you approach challenges and see
business opportunities.

How to develop entrepreneurial thinking:

 See challenges as opportunities
 Transform competitors in research subjects
 Spend effort on the big picture and make sure it’s solid
 break down massive projects and problems into smaller, more manageable
pieces.
 Acknowledge mistakes, figure out what you can do to make up for them, and
move on
 constantly searchfor individuals and experiences that will challenge your way
of thinking and lead them to see things from a new perspective.
 know what you want and be prepared to do whatever it takes to get it
 No 9 to 5 program. You carry your business with you everywhere you go.

2. Organizing
a. Logical thinking

Logical thinking is the process in which you use reasoning consistently to come to a
conclusion. Problems or situations that involve logical thinking call for structure, for
relationships between facts, and for chains of reasoning that make sense.”

How to develop logical thinking:

 differentiate established facts from personal observations
 look for details and learn how they function individually and in the group
before focusing on the bigger picture
 dig into the meaning of words
 be flexible in judging other people
 be aware of diversity in environment
 work on development of cognitive skills
  have a positive attitude
 enhance logical thinking at leisure

b. Analytical skills

Analytical thinking is a critical component of visual thinking that gives the ability to solve
problems quickly and effectively. It involves a methodical step-by-step approach to
thinking that allows you to break down complex problems into single and manageable
components.

Analytical thinking implies:

 Strategizing future direction for the business
 Deciphering the impact of market conditions on the business
 Innovating new applications for existing products or services

How to develop analytical thinking:

 Recognize the underlying issues or problems
 Organize information related to the underlying issues or problems
 Draw proper conclusions
 Make decisions which are more likely to satisfy all needs.
 Project and make accurate predictions about the possible outcomes.
 make decisions on their feet, without having to study a situation or require
logical observations to look at.
 Assess all aspects of a problem from beginning to end, from identification to
resolution
 Decide what potential problems might arise and formulate the right steps
which would be needed to correct them
 Use every informal knowledge at your disposal

c. Administrative skills

Administrative skills imply:

 Creative problem solving
 Emotional intelligence
 Proper etiquette
 Foresight and anticipation
 Multitasking
 Adaptability
 Meticulous organization
 Resourcefulness
  Prioritization

d. Technical Knowledge
e. Logistic

Logistic skills imply:

 Supply Consequences (Analyzing)
 Logistics Resiliency (Reasoning)
 Power Projection Logistics (Evaluating)

f. Negotiating
Negotiation is a method by which people settle differences. It is a process by which,
compromise or agreement is reached while avoiding argument and dispute.
How to develop negotiating skills:
 Undertake preparation before discussing the disagreement
 Key skills during “discussion” include questioning, listening and clarifying.
 The goals, interests and viewpoints of both sides of the disagreement need to
be clarified.
 negotiate towards a win-win outcome
 Make agreement perfectly clear so that both sides know what has been
decided.
 Implement a course of action to carry through the decision.
 In case of failure to agree, look at other alternative solutions and/or bring in
another person to mediate.
 Informal negotiation

g. Time management

Time management is the process of organizing and planning how to divide time between
specific activities.

Time management skills implies:

 Greater productivity and efficiency.
 A better professional reputation.
 Less stress.
 Increased opportunities for advancement.
 Greater opportunities to achieve career goals
 How to develop time management skills:
 Delegate tasks
 Prioritize important tasks to focus on them
 Set up deadlines a few days before task need to be completed
 Avoid procrastination
 Avoid multitasking
 Start early

h. Team building

Team building is a collective term for various types of activities used to enhance social
relations and define roles within teams, often involving collaborative tasks. ... Many
team-building exercises aim to expose and address interpersonal problems within the
group

How to build a team

 shift the paradigm from individual to team
 build a creative atmosphere
 Facilitate a smooth communication bridge
 keep your employees stress-free
 Delegate problem-solving tasks to the team
 Establish team values, goals and ground rules; evaluate team performance
3. Coordinating
a. Adaptability to changes

Adaptability skills refers to the ability of a person to change his actions, course or
approach to doing things in order to suit a new situation.

How to develop adaptability skills:

 Observe and monitor changes in your environment. Compare present
observations with past ones
 Avoid procrastination
 Acknowledge that changes are bound to occur
 Be willing to make mistakes
 Ask questions
 Note down what you learn when things don’t go as planned

b. Communication. Verbal and Non-verbal

Communication skills are the ability to convey information to another effectively and
efficiently. Business managers with good verbal, non-verbal and written communication
skills help facilitate the sharing of information between people within a company for its
commercial benefit.

How to develop communication skills:

 Take the time to practice active listening. Understand what the other person
is trying to say and respond appropriately.
 Make eye contact, hand gestures, and tone of voice to color the message you
convey.
 Have a friendly tone to appear approachable and to encourage others to
speak openly with you.
 Pay attention to other people's nonverbal signals while you are talking.
 Convey your message in as few words as possible.
 Be nice and polite in all workplace communications
 Be confident in your interactions with others.

c. Public Speaking

Public speaking skills refer to the talent of effectively addressing an audience and the
ability to communicate to them with clarity and confidence.

Public speaking skills implies:

 Demonstrates your knowledge.
 Demonstrates your confidence.
 Helps you lead better

How to develop public speaking skills:

 Prepare a presentation or speech by giving it a logical flow and make it more
vibrant
 Know your audience. Your speech is about them, not you
 Identify your true strengths and weaknesses. Utilize your strengths wisely to
keep your audience paying attention.
 Watch for feedback and adapt to it

d. Team management
Team management is the ability of an individual or an organization to administer and
coordinate a group of individuals to perform a task. It involves teamwork,
communication, objective setting and performance appraisals

How to develop team management skills:

 Focus on the action, not the actor
 Offer recommendations and guidance.
 Make it a two-way conversation.
 Provide context and stakes for each task you delegate
 Set clear expectations and pick the right employees for the right tasks.
 Invest in employee development
 Recognize strengths
 Focus on commonalities instead of dwelling on differences
 Perceive and understand employee work styles
 Acknowledge the problem instead of pretending that it doesn’t exist. Propose
a solution and then talk about it
 Pair new or developing employees with veteran buddies
 Use teamwork and collaboration tools, such as Slack, Trello

e. Team player

A team player is a person who plays or works well as a member of a team or group.
Teams in organizations need strong team players to perform well and reach their goals.

How to develop team player skills:

 Show genuine commitment
 Be flexible, reliable and responsible
 Go teammates with ideas prepared clearly
 Keep your team informed
 Support and respect the others
 Recognize when you are wrong

f. Emotional Intelligence
g. Empathy
h. Screening Applicants for jobs
i. Teaching
j. Tactfulness
k. Patience
4. Directing
a. Assertiveness
b. Conflict management
c. Decision making
d. Delegation
e. Empowerment
f. Goal Orientation and Goal setting
g. Problem Solving
h. Professionalism
i. Listening
j. Verbal communication
k. Constructive criticism
l. Sales Direction

5. Oversight
a. Assessing progress
How to improve assessing progress skills
 Set up SMART objectives and define completion
 Set up milestones and a detailed plan to complete them
 Set up business procedures
 Take regular status reports and review them
o What was done
b. Budget management
c. Business Management
d. Financial management
i. For Understanding financial statements
ii. For Interpreting financial data
iii. For Creating financial reports
e. Interpreting legal statutes
f. Evaluating Employee performance
g. Recruiting talent
h. Training employees
 Part II: Action Plan to improvement

A. Theoretical Plan

Read at least 5-10 pages pers day and 1 book / month

Authors to read:
1. Peter Drucker
a. The profession of management
b. The Effective Executive
c. Managing Oneself: The key to success
2. Jack Welch
a. Winning
b. What I Learned Leading a Great Company with Great People
c. What makes a leader?
d. The real-life MBA
3. HBR
a. Finance Basics for managers
4. Seth Godin
a. Purple Cow, transform your business by being remarkable
Sources for articles and case studies
1. https://hbr.org/
2. https://www.inc.com/
3. https://www.businessinsider.com/
4. https://www.economist.com/

B. Practice Plan

At least 1 discussion/review with each of the following persons

People to follow and look up to

1. Adrian Sarbu
Responsibilities to learn from: Product vision, Business Development
Skills to develop as like: directing, planning
 2. Daniel Iacob
Responsibilities to learn from: Team Construction, Brand Management
Skills to develop as like: Coordinating, Oversight

3. Radu Marga
Responsibilities to learn from: Business Plan, Business Development
Skills to develop as like: Coordinating, Oversight

People to work with and learn from their day to day Job

4. Daniela Plugaru
Job to learn from: Accounting

5. Victor Tamas
Job to learn from: Accounting

6. Anca Vasiliu
Job to learn from: Recruitment

7. Raluca Lang
Job to learn from: Legal

8. Iulia Chiva
Job to learn from: Legal

9. Lucian Dimitriu
Job to learn from: Technical

10. Ovidiu Iordan

Job to learn from: Copywriting

11. Lavinia Trofin

Job to learn from: Graphic Design

12. Marian Coman

Job to learn from: Script writing

13. Adelina Mihai

Job to learn from: Head Hunting
 People to learn with and ask for opinion

1. Ioachim Viju
Skill to catch: assertiveness

2. Dragos Ureche
Skill to catch: motivation

3. Andrei Ilie
Skill to catch: practical thinking

Framework de timp
 1 saptamana
Obiectiv
 De citit 50 de pagini din HBR Finance
KPIs
 Obiectiv atins pana duminica seara ora 21:00
 Sa fi inteles informatia citita
 Sa pot rezuma si esentialul din informatia citita
Evaluare
 Fac o sinteza a lucrurilor pe care le-a retinut
 Compar sinteza cu notitele extrase
Milestones
 Cate 5 pagini zilnic in timpul saptamanii
 20 de pagini sambata

Reward
 Duminica seara – movie night

Eudaimonie – dezvoltare personala

Failibilism – acceptarea faptului ca avem info imperfecte despre lume si ca putem sa
imbunatatim aceste informatii.

Logos
Pathos
Ethos

De separat skillurile de modurile de a fi

Pareto distribution