8 Tips of Cardinal Richelieu
There is a common misconception that the art of management belongs exclusively to the newest time. In fact, art is as old as the world. The manager is one of the oldest professions along with you know with what. Egyptian slaves would never have built the pyramids for the pharaohs if they had not been competently beaten with sticks. Both European and Eastern (mostly Confucian) traditions have left us many wonderful tips. What is worth only the famous statement of Ye-lii Chutsay, chung-shu ling at the court of the first Mongol khans (something like the prime minister): "You can create an empire by riding a horse, but you cannot control an empire by riding a horse . "
We decided to conduct a fun experiment. We took the political testament of the notorious Cardinal Richelieu (correctly - Richelieu), which is a rather characteristic XVII century treatise on the topic “How to and how not to manage the state” and transformed it into a guide for managing a small SEO company, web studio or department online advertising.
')
Whether we succeeded or not is up to you.
The original testament is here .
"The weakness of the human being requires equilibrium in all things, and this is the foundation of truth."
The main key to the success of any enterprise is a properly built management structure. In relation to the SEO department, there are 2 types of structures that can be used explicitly or implicitly in organizations that specialize in SEO: functional and project-functional .
The functional structure usually develops naturally and takes place in small companies.
The main disadvantage of the functional structure is that with an increase in the number or pace of project implementation, the manager no longer has time to control the workflow.
The design and functional structure assumes allocation along with the head of a department of key posts of project managers.
Obvious advantages of the structure:
1) the opportunity for the head of the department to focus on strategic issues, the development of the department,
2) the possibility of quality management of a large number of projects. If in the functional structure a certain conditional "ceiling" is 10-15 projects, then the design-functional "ceiling" is proportional to the number of project managers.
The downside is that project managers must have, firstly, high qualifications, secondly, high motivation, and thirdly, a high level of responsibility. To find such specialists is quite difficult.
"So much disaster comes from the inability of certain to the main positions and to the most important matters, that the sovereigns and participants in the management of their affairs cannot be sufficiently careful that everyone is defined to the positions that are peculiar to him."
Any work of the head of the department should begin with taking two clean sheets and writing out on one of them the names and brief characteristics of their employees, and on the other - a list of functions necessary for the effective work of the department.
A simple magic trick will allow you to combine these two sheets in a two-dimensional space in the form of a task separation matrix , for example:
Before us is one of the most common work schemes:
• project manager Athos
• Porthos website development specialist
• Advertising Specialist Aramis
• smartly writing copywriter D'Artagnan
The combination of characters may be different and is selected based on the specific situation. For example, you can use the following characters:
And - performance
Do - participate in the task
To - control over the implementation of the task.
O - responsibility
D - report submission
The task separation matrix makes it possible to understand:
• who does what in the department,
• which employee is overloaded or vice versa underloaded,
• who can delegate certain functions,
• who is responsible for what,
• who controls whom and
those. to clarify and visualize the credentials of all department employees.
"Give me only six lines, written by the hand of the most honest person, and I will find, for which he can be hung."
If your company has already experienced growing pains and switched to a design-functional structure, whether you like it or not, you will need a workflow system.
Internal documents (instructions, templates) will simplify the work of employees and reduce the time for training beginners. On the basis of reports made in a single format, it is more convenient to make final reports for clients and partners. Finally, it will not hurt to document analyzes of competitors and search engines in the form of analytical documents .
Project example: create from scratch and conduct a one-time optimization of the site podveskikorolevy.com
“Mind does not allow to free it [the people] from any kind of burden, because, losing in this case a sign of its submission, the people would forget about their fate and, being freed from taxes, would imagine that they are free from obedience” .
"Month" relaxes, "week" - optimizes. In general, a task divided into small parts is performed more successfully than a task indicated by two or three common words.
We can say: " Your task is to kill the mammoth in a month ." And you can say:
• In the first week, your task is to track down the path that the mammoth walks on,
• on the second - dig a hole and fill it with brushwood,
• in the third week, I will connect the rest of our tribe,
• and only on the fourth we will all chase him with stakes and torches until the mammoth falls into a hole.
"The treasury is the heart of the state, and indeed it is the Archimedes tool, which, being firmly strengthened, provides a way to roll the whole world."
The central core of the department’s management system, its “treasury”, is the information system , a virtual data warehouse that facilitates the exchange of information, planning and control of work.
There are many paid or conditionally paid services and software packages: Teamer , Windows SharePoint Services , Trac, and even 1C: Consolidation . However, they usually require complex configuration.
Practice shows that simple solutions are more effective (for example, sending through Google Groups , a closed phpBB forum or a self-written program).
When the number of employees reaches, for example, 50, it makes sense to use an intracorporate social network. The internal corporate network will not only increase work efficiency, but also allow “letting off steam” and communicate in non-working threads.
“The strongest state in the world cannot boast of having reliable peace if it is not able to protect itself at any time from a sudden invasion and from an unintended attack.”
The most significant risk when working on SEO is a change in ranking algorithms by search engines.
This and other force majeure is useful to think in advance, to describe them and try to develop measures to minimize.
"My first goal was the greatness of the king, my second goal was the power of the state."
About the motivation of employees, often working on remote access, we wrote in our first post on Habrahabr .
There is a deep misconception that the only way to motivate can be a cash bonus. Money is good, but much more often an ordinary employee is worried about the loyalty of his chosen path . The main task of the head of the department is to convince the prospective employee of the correctness of the choice. T. o. The performance of a company employee is directly proportional to the company's image on the market.
A person working for a stable and growing company, no motivation is simply not needed.
"A sovereign who wants to love being his subjects must occupy the main ranks and the first authorities of his state by persons so respectable from the whole world so that they can find the reason for his choice in dignity."
The only criterion for professionalism in the IT-sphere can be knowledge, not experience . The SEO market is subject to rapid changes, each month there are new ranking algorithms, new contextual advertising systems, new promotion mechanisms. A person who specializes in search engine optimization, can fill up all the work on the promotion of social networks, for example.
Hence the conclusion: promotion of an employee through the ranks is possible only if they pass a certain professional "exam". Only when he proves his competence in this field of specialization, it can be enhanced.
Therefore, in addition to all other papers, there should also be a special table in the table of the head of the department, in which he would note the progress of each of his employees in a particular area of ​​work, based not on words, but on reports and figures provided by employees.
Perhaps someone who has school history books in a closet will recall another famous phrase by Richelieu, that "the people should work like a mule." In fact, in the original, this phrase is:
"The people should eat donkeys, who, accustomed to packs, spoil from long-term peace more than from work, but so that work was in moderation, and the burden of these animals was equal to their strength."
In other words, Richelieu speaks of some kind of management system that could be called “rational cynicism” (by analogy with “rational egoism”). This model assumes the unconditional authority of the “king” (department head) and the “nobility” (project managers). Probably, in some ways this model is not flawless, otherwise what would the French be to make a revolution ...
We decided to conduct a fun experiment. We took the political testament of the notorious Cardinal Richelieu (correctly - Richelieu), which is a rather characteristic XVII century treatise on the topic “How to and how not to manage the state” and transformed it into a guide for managing a small SEO company, web studio or department online advertising.
')
Whether we succeeded or not is up to you.
The original testament is here .
1. Structure
"The weakness of the human being requires equilibrium in all things, and this is the foundation of truth."
The main key to the success of any enterprise is a properly built management structure. In relation to the SEO department, there are 2 types of structures that can be used explicitly or implicitly in organizations that specialize in SEO: functional and project-functional .
The functional structure usually develops naturally and takes place in small companies.
The main disadvantage of the functional structure is that with an increase in the number or pace of project implementation, the manager no longer has time to control the workflow.
The design and functional structure assumes allocation along with the head of a department of key posts of project managers.
Obvious advantages of the structure:
1) the opportunity for the head of the department to focus on strategic issues, the development of the department,
2) the possibility of quality management of a large number of projects. If in the functional structure a certain conditional "ceiling" is 10-15 projects, then the design-functional "ceiling" is proportional to the number of project managers.
The downside is that project managers must have, firstly, high qualifications, secondly, high motivation, and thirdly, a high level of responsibility. To find such specialists is quite difficult.
2. division of labor
"So much disaster comes from the inability of certain to the main positions and to the most important matters, that the sovereigns and participants in the management of their affairs cannot be sufficiently careful that everyone is defined to the positions that are peculiar to him."
Any work of the head of the department should begin with taking two clean sheets and writing out on one of them the names and brief characteristics of their employees, and on the other - a list of functions necessary for the effective work of the department.
A simple magic trick will allow you to combine these two sheets in a two-dimensional space in the form of a task separation matrix , for example:
| performer / function | Athos (experienced, smart, i / p: addiction to alcohol) | Porthos (reliable, stable, in / p: glutton) | Aramis (cunning, adroit, in / n: nourishes a passion for women) | D'Artagnan (hot, ambitious, inexperienced, in / n: pugnacious) |
| project management | X | |||
| link placement | X | |||
| copywriting | X | |||
| research, audit | X | |||
| customer acquisition | X | |||
| Web programming | X | |||
| contextual advertising | X | |||
| design, usability | X | |||
| viral marketing | X |
Before us is one of the most common work schemes:
• project manager Athos
• Porthos website development specialist
• Advertising Specialist Aramis
• smartly writing copywriter D'Artagnan
The combination of characters may be different and is selected based on the specific situation. For example, you can use the following characters:
And - performance
Do - participate in the task
To - control over the implementation of the task.
O - responsibility
D - report submission
The task separation matrix makes it possible to understand:
• who does what in the department,
• which employee is overloaded or vice versa underloaded,
• who can delegate certain functions,
• who is responsible for what,
• who controls whom and
those. to clarify and visualize the credentials of all department employees.
3. Reporting
"Give me only six lines, written by the hand of the most honest person, and I will find, for which he can be hung."
If your company has already experienced growing pains and switched to a design-functional structure, whether you like it or not, you will need a workflow system.
Internal documents (instructions, templates) will simplify the work of employees and reduce the time for training beginners. On the basis of reports made in a single format, it is more convenient to make final reports for clients and partners. Finally, it will not hurt to document analyzes of competitors and search engines in the form of analytical documents .
Project example: create from scratch and conduct a one-time optimization of the site podveskikorolevy.com
| function (task) | input information | a source of information | output document | performers | term | consumers |
| market research royal pendants | research request (see pattern 111 ) | Project Manager ( Athos ) | research report (see template 333 ) | D'Artagnan | 2-3 days | Project Manager ( Athos ) |
| selection and installation of CMS | CMS purchase request (see template 222 ) | Project Manager ( Athos ) | CMS selection report (see template 444 ), CMS installation report (template 555 ) | Porthos | 2-3 days | Project Manager ( Athos ) |
| site design | request for the need to attract a third-party employee (the design proposed by Porthos does not please the client) | Project Manager ( Athos ) | brief description of the third-party employee (template 666 ), design installation report (template 777 ) | Charlotte Buxton | 4-5 days | Head of Department ( Mr. de Treville ) |
| compilation of semantic core | Report on the study of d'Artagnan (see line 1) | Project Manager (Athos) | report on the formation of the semantic core (template 888 ) | Athos (decided to do it myself) | 2-3 days | Project Manager (Athos) |
| SEO copywriting | Athos Report on Semantic Core Formation | Project Manager ( Athos ) | report on the content with the above content (template 999 ) | D'Artagnan | 4-5 days | Project Manager ( Athos) |
| contextual advertising | request for contextual advertising (template 1111 ) | Head of Department ( Mr. de Treville ) | report on the promotion (template 1222 ) | Aramis | 10-15 days | Head of Department ( Mr. de Treville ) |
| PE: the disclosure of official secrets (customer name) | request for an internal investigation (template 1333 ) | Head of Department ( Mr. de Treville ) | investigation report (template 1444 ) | Lille Executor | 2-3 days | Head of Department (Mr. de Treville) |
4. Planning
“Mind does not allow to free it [the people] from any kind of burden, because, losing in this case a sign of its submission, the people would forget about their fate and, being freed from taxes, would imagine that they are free from obedience” .
"Month" relaxes, "week" - optimizes. In general, a task divided into small parts is performed more successfully than a task indicated by two or three common words.
We can say: " Your task is to kill the mammoth in a month ." And you can say:
• In the first week, your task is to track down the path that the mammoth walks on,
• on the second - dig a hole and fill it with brushwood,
• in the third week, I will connect the rest of our tribe,
• and only on the fourth we will all chase him with stakes and torches until the mammoth falls into a hole.
5. Saving data
"The treasury is the heart of the state, and indeed it is the Archimedes tool, which, being firmly strengthened, provides a way to roll the whole world."
The central core of the department’s management system, its “treasury”, is the information system , a virtual data warehouse that facilitates the exchange of information, planning and control of work.
There are many paid or conditionally paid services and software packages: Teamer , Windows SharePoint Services , Trac, and even 1C: Consolidation . However, they usually require complex configuration.
Practice shows that simple solutions are more effective (for example, sending through Google Groups , a closed phpBB forum or a self-written program).
When the number of employees reaches, for example, 50, it makes sense to use an intracorporate social network. The internal corporate network will not only increase work efficiency, but also allow “letting off steam” and communicate in non-working threads.
6. Risks
“The strongest state in the world cannot boast of having reliable peace if it is not able to protect itself at any time from a sudden invasion and from an unintended attack.”
The most significant risk when working on SEO is a change in ranking algorithms by search engines.
This and other force majeure is useful to think in advance, to describe them and try to develop measures to minimize.
| Kind of risk | Importance | How can I minimize |
| Change the ranking algorithm | Very important | Conducting a comprehensive website optimization, content expansion, creation of backup advertising campaigns in the Yandex.Direct and Runner systems |
| Aggressive actions of competitors | Important | Track competitors. Using white promotion methods |
| Etc. |
7. Employee Motivation
"My first goal was the greatness of the king, my second goal was the power of the state."
About the motivation of employees, often working on remote access, we wrote in our first post on Habrahabr .
There is a deep misconception that the only way to motivate can be a cash bonus. Money is good, but much more often an ordinary employee is worried about the loyalty of his chosen path . The main task of the head of the department is to convince the prospective employee of the correctness of the choice. T. o. The performance of a company employee is directly proportional to the company's image on the market.
A person working for a stable and growing company, no motivation is simply not needed.
8. Professional growth
"A sovereign who wants to love being his subjects must occupy the main ranks and the first authorities of his state by persons so respectable from the whole world so that they can find the reason for his choice in dignity."
The only criterion for professionalism in the IT-sphere can be knowledge, not experience . The SEO market is subject to rapid changes, each month there are new ranking algorithms, new contextual advertising systems, new promotion mechanisms. A person who specializes in search engine optimization, can fill up all the work on the promotion of social networks, for example.
Hence the conclusion: promotion of an employee through the ranks is possible only if they pass a certain professional "exam". Only when he proves his competence in this field of specialization, it can be enhanced.
Therefore, in addition to all other papers, there should also be a special table in the table of the head of the department, in which he would note the progress of each of his employees in a particular area of ​​work, based not on words, but on reports and figures provided by employees.
Summary
Perhaps someone who has school history books in a closet will recall another famous phrase by Richelieu, that "the people should work like a mule." In fact, in the original, this phrase is:
"The people should eat donkeys, who, accustomed to packs, spoil from long-term peace more than from work, but so that work was in moderation, and the burden of these animals was equal to their strength."
In other words, Richelieu speaks of some kind of management system that could be called “rational cynicism” (by analogy with “rational egoism”). This model assumes the unconditional authority of the “king” (department head) and the “nobility” (project managers). Probably, in some ways this model is not flawless, otherwise what would the French be to make a revolution ...
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/92270/
All Articles