ABSTRACT
The focus on contribution is the key to effectiveness – in a man's own work, its content, its level, its standards, and its impacts; in his relations with others – his superiors, his associates, his subordinates; in his use of the tools of the executive such as meetings or reports. The head of one of the large management consulting firms always starts an assignment with a new client by spending a few days visiting the senior executives of the client organization one by one. The effective man always states at the outset of a meeting the specific purpose and contribution it is to achieve. The focus on contribution turns the executive's attention away from his own speciality, narrow skills, and own department, toward the performance of the whole. This focus by itself supplies the four basic requirements of effective human relations: communications; teamwork; self-development; and development of others. For the knowledge worker to focus on contribution is particularly important.
