Page 295 - Your Leader Within Introduction

He explained that, as a staff manager, I could not give direction, but I could ask questions and based on those questions, we could improve service and reduce costs.
At first I thought he was crazy, but I had great respect for his direction and did what he asked. We hired a clerk at night who called each of 28 operating centers and complete a District Daily Operating Report. The report consisted of the Key Performance Indicators for each Center and Division (group of centers).
At 10 AM each morning, I would conduct a conference call with the Division Managers and ask questions. Things like “what driver was most over standard yesterday in Haverstown?”
At first the Division Manager, who had not read the Operating Report, didn’t know, but it wasn’t long before they got the message that it was important for them to read the report.
Based on the answer to that type of question, then I would get an answer like “Jones.” I would respond “when did the supervisor last ride with Jones?” Again the answers wouldn’t come, but after more time, the Division Managers began asking the questions of their Operating Center Managers.
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