Guideposts of Management
As managers it is important to periodically pause and look back on the principles that
our founder J. Willard Marriott used to successfully build his business. These were
passed down as guidelines to run the company in a letter from father to son when J.W.
Marriott, Jr. became Vice President in 1964.
1. Keep physically fit, mentally and spiritually strong.
2. Guard your habits - bad ones will destroy you.
3. Pray about every difficult problem.
4. Study and follow professional management principles. Apply them logically and
practically to your organization.
5. People are No. 1 - their development, loyalty, interest and team spirit.
6. Decisions: People grow by making decisions and assuming responsibility for them.
a. Make crystal clear what decisions each manager is responsible for and what decisions you reserve for
them.
b. Have all the facts and counsel as necessary - then decide and stick to it.
7. Criticism: Don't criticize people but make a fair appraisal of their qualifications with their supervisor only (or
someone assigned to do this). Remember anything you say about someone may (and usually does) get
back to them. There are few secrets.
8. See the good in people and try to develop these qualities.
9. Inefficiency: If it cannot be overcome and an employee is obviously incapable of the job, find a job he can
do or terminate now. Don't wait.
10. Manage your time:
a. Short conversations - to the point.
b. Make every minute on the job count.
c. Work fewer hours - some of us waste half our time.
11. Delegate and hold accountable for results.
12. Details:
a. Let your staff take care of them.
b. Save your energy for planning, thinking, working with department heads, promoting new ideas.
c. Don't do anything someone else can do for you.
13. Ideas and competition:
a. Ideas keep the business alive.
b. Know what your competitors are doing and planning.
c. Encourage all management to think about better ways and give suggestions on anything that will
improve business.
d. Spend time and money on research and development.
14. Don't try to do an employee's job for him or her - counsel and suggest.
15. Think objectively and keep a sense of humor. Make the business fun for you and others.
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