I read 『HIGH OUTPUT MANAGEMENT』アンドリュー・S・グローブ（著） (HIGH OUTPUT MANAGEMENT by Andrew S. Grove), so I’ll share the insights I gained from the book.

Background: Recommended Reading for Managers

I had finished reading this about 4 years ago, but since it became a recommended book for managers within our company, I’ve decided to publish these reading notes now, albeit belatedly.

Below are quotes and notes from sections that left an impression on me.

Foreword by Ben Horowitz

A manager's output = the output of his organization + the output of neighboring organizations under his influence

The fact that a manager should be evaluated only by the performance and output of his team is related to this point.

? Manager evaluation criteria.

Introduction

II. Operating in a New Environment

Are such one-on-one meetings really necessary? They are absolutely necessary. If you have ten subordinates, do you need to have these meetings at the same frequency as when you had five subordinates? You don't. Do you need to have meetings about everything? You don't. Because today's employees usually know much better what's happening in their company through computer networks than employees in the same position ten years ago.

? 1-on-1 meetings are absolutely necessary.

III. Managing Your Own Career

1. Are you adding real value, or are you just passing information around? How are you trying to add more value...? This is the question.

? Are you adding value?

Part 1: The Breakfast Factory - Basic Principles of Production

Chapter 1: Basics of Production

The Production Principle of 3-Minute Boiled Eggs

Let’s say the waiter’s job is to simultaneously prepare three items - a 3-minute soft-boiled egg, buttered toast, and coffee - and deliver them hot and fresh to the customer’s table. This work actually contains basic requirements for production. These requirements are: responding to customer demands, delivering products of acceptable quality to customers at a predetermined “fixed” time, at the “lowest” possible cost.

? Basic requirements of production

Part 2: Management is a Team Game

Chapter 3: Managerial Leverage

What is a Manager's Output

A manager’s output = the output of his organization + the output of neighboring organizations under his influence

Gathering and Providing Internal Information

Most of a manager’s work involves the allocation of management resources - labor, money, capital. But the single most important resource that managers allocate daily is their own time. In principle, money, labor, and capital can always be obtained more, but every manager has their own time only in absolutely finite form. Therefore, considerable attention must be paid to its allocation and use. How you handle your own time is the most important aspect of being a role model and leader, I believe.

? Manager’s time allocation is important.

Leverage in Management Activities

The “technique” of management lies in the ability to select one, two, or at most three activities with excellent leverage from many activities that appear to have similar importance, and concentrate on them.

? Management technique is selecting and focusing on activities with effective leverage.

Built-in Leverage in Organizations - How Many Subordinates Should a Manager Have

As a rough rule of thumb, managers with heavy supervisory duties should have about six to eight subordinates - three or four is too few, and ten is too many. This range is based on the standard that about half a day per week must be allocated to each subordinate (spending two days per week per subordinate leads to excessive interference, while one hour per week doesn’t provide sufficient monitoring opportunities).

Therefore, as a rough rule of thumb, whether supervisors or knowledge providers in normal management hierarchies, managers should aim to have six to eight subordinates or equivalent people.

? 6-8 team members is appropriate for managers.

Mission-Oriented Meetings

Ideally, ad hoc mission-oriented meetings should not be called. If everything is going smoothly, regular process-oriented meetings should handle everything.

? Ideally, no ad hoc meetings.

A true sign of organizational dysfunction appears when people spend more than 25 percent of their time in ad hoc mission-oriented meetings.

? More than 25% ad hoc meetings = sign of organizational dysfunction

Part 4: The Players

Chapter 12: Task-Relevant Maturity

Subordinate Task-Relevant Maturity: Characteristics of Effective Management Style [Low] Clear structure (system), task-oriented - show "what" "when" "why" [Medium] Individual-oriented - two-way communication, support, value mutual judgment [High] Minimize manager involvement - set goals and monitor (The basic variable determining effective management style is subordinate task-relevant maturity)

? Characteristics of effective management style

I'd like to note here that you shouldn't judge that structured management style has less value than communication-oriented style. What's "good" and what's "bad" should not occupy any place in your thinking and behavior. What we're pursuing is what's most "effective."

? What’s the most effective management style?

The responsibility for teaching things to subordinates must always be borne by the supervisor, and should not be paid for by customers, whether inside or outside the organization.

? Don’t make customers pay for education costs.

That’s all from the Gemba, where I want to continue high-output management.