Turning Strategy Into Execution | John Manuel

John Manuel's boss once called him a 30,000 foot thinker living in a thousand foot job. Then a merger turned him from a manager of a few people into a director overnight, with temps to onboard and no leadership training to lean on. John, VP of commercial operations and merchandising at Puris Foods, walks through what he learned about promotion, delegation, and turning strategy into work a team can actually execute.

Guest: John Manuel is VP of commercial operations and merchandising at Puris Foods, with a career that includes General Mills, Miller Milling, and Dryland Genetics, and firsthand experience stepping up from manager to director to VP.

In this episode:

• 00:59 - Kent's welcome and John's introduction
• 02:28 - John's career path, from agricultural rail cars to pea proteins
• 07:31 - Why a promotion is a new job, not a reward for the old one
• 11:40 - "30,000 foot person" feedback and the pull toward execution
• 20:11 - Manager to director overnight during a merger
• 26:03 - Running to something instead of from something
• 29:06 - What separates the VP level from director, and the "but" rule
• 35:05 - Delegation, vulnerability, and John's three pillars
• 39:24 - Turning strategy into execution with OKRs
• 43:41 - Advice for aspiring leaders and newly promoted VPs

Resources mentioned:

• High Output Management by Andy Grove (search for this)
• The Speed of Trust by Stephen M.R. Covey (search for this)
• The Eisenhower Matrix (search for this)
• OKRs (Objectives and Key Results) framework

Links for today's show:

• John Manuel on LinkedIn
• Puris Foods website [PLACEHOLDER, add link if you want it]
• Kent Kniebel on LinkedIn
• The Promoted Leader Toolkit

Music for this podcast comes from a live recording of the song Needle & Thread and is provided with permission by Pert' Near Sandstone. Check them out on pertnearsandstone.com and on all major streaming platforms.

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