I love astonishingly simple stories of astonishing impact.
Jim Ellis is telling me about a meeting he’s in with the legendary Ferry Porsche. From a sales perspective, Porsche was all about the 911 at the time.
Jim’s sitting at a table with Ferry and his sons, one of whom is the designer of 911. Jim is the CEO of Porsche Design — the company’s accessory and lifestyle brand.
The sons are advocating for a strategy focused on the 911. But there’s a proposal to expand into the SUV category. Ferry turns to Jim and asks: “What would you do?”
Jim’s answer: “There’s a ‘soccer mom’ ready to buy every SUV we make.”
Today, the SUV Macan and Cayenne represent 60 percent of Porsche’s sales in North America. I’d say it was a good call.
I’m talking to Jim because he’s the author of a new book called, A Journey of Insights: Lessons in Leadership and Legacy. Jim’s a super-personable guy and so is the book. He was also the Dean of USC’s Marshall School of Business, and I wanted to get his perspective on managing for readers of this newsletter.
After all, he was the manager who saved Porsche in America.
Listening is what actually saved Porsche.
The big lesson for managers in the Porsche story is really all about listening and seeking out alternative perspectives.
Listening is one of the Six Drivers of Consistency from my research into the future of managing with millennials and gen-z. Remember: consistency is the number one reason someone recommends a manager to a friend or colleague.
What’s so interesting talking to Jim is he’s saying that listening isn’t just the act of hearing something, it’s also the willingness to do something with what you just heard.
“The CEO was willing to ask a question outside the family and listen to the answer,” Jim says. “Even with his sons sitting around the table expecting him to support them.”
Three ways to listen better as a manager
The more we talked, the more Jim emphasized listening as a manager. I came away from my discussion thinking something new about listening: it has to be intentional and situational at the same time. It’s a great lesson for managers.
To put that mindset into practice day-to-day, keep these three approaches in mind:
From Individual Contributor to Manager
It’s a natural progression. From IC to manager and suddenly you’ve got people who are dependent on you. Jim’s advice: listening in this situation requires understanding what motivates your people.
“You have to learn how to manage each person differently — some are early risers, some work late into the night. You have to come to understand the people who work for you, spend time talking to them, listening to them — what's got them motivated, is it money, lifestyle, independence. That's listening. You've got to listen to people that work for you. What can I do to make this person successful? Because you will be successful as a manager when the people that work for you are successful in their own roles. If they're as successful as they can be, you're going to be successful in your situation.”
Get comfortable with silence
It’s counterintuitive, but sometimes the most powerful listening move is the one where you say nothing at all. Jim’s advice: stop rushing to fill the gap.
“People want to talk, and people want to talk about themselves, and want to talk about what they’ve done well or where they’ve had a problem, whatever, and just give them the opportunity. Even dead air is something we don’t like. We want to fill it up, so we want to say something, and just don’t say anything for 15 seconds and see what happens. All of a sudden, somebody’s going to go, ‘Oh yeah, I got to tell you about this. I forgot to tell you about this.’ It works. It just really does work. It’s not about you. It’s about them, and make it that way.”
Focus on the work issue
It’s almost universally common for managers. A member of the team needs to “talk.” I know for myself, the phrase, “I need to talk to you” was one of the most common I heard as a manager of people. Jim’s advice: get to the heart of the matter.
“The more we listen, the better we as managers can help our people be more successful. You have to find out what’s triggering an issue with someone. I don't want to get into people's personal problems, but if there's something I can do to help them be a better employee, I'm going need to know what's triggering their whole issue.”
My favorite part of the book: Mentoring
Chapter Four of the book focuses on Relationships and Mentors.
These simple words say a lot: “Mentoring takes all forms — be prepared.”
Jim ends each chapter with a series of thoughtful questions. In the case of mentoring, his questions focus on how the mentee can be prepared to be mentored.
Is it easy to connect with people who interest you?
What could you do to develop this skill?
What might you need from a mentor at your stage of life?
Where could that mentor help you?
For managers, maybe there’s another Porsche out there waiting to be saved. I hope it’s you who does the saving!
How good a listener are you?
Listening is one of the Six Drivers of Consistency. Take the Self-assessment.
How to be a Great First-time Manager: The Culture Platform
The only purpose-built learning and development system for first-time millennial and gen-z managers.
The corporate ladder has been dismantled rung by rung by AI. For millennials and gen-z, the predictable career path has vaporized — and most managers are navigating it alone, without any formal training.
I’ve managed about 5,000 people in my career, and I was consistently ranked in the top quartile of all managers at Cisco, one of the world’s best places to work. I’ve walked in your shoes as a manager.
I left Cisco to answer one question with research and evidence: what does the manager of the future look like?
My research — conducted with thousands of young people at companies like Amazon, Google, Disney, and DoorDash — identified Six Drivers of Consistency that separate great managers from the rest, with a 95% confidence interval.
That research became The Culture Platform: a complete learning and development system — Framework, Feedback, and Tools — purpose-built for first-time managers who want to separate themselves and be a great manager of high-performance teams.
ManagerMentor • All Rights Reserved • The Culture Platform, Inc. • 2026
Love this insight!
Growing up, my dad had a Porsche 911 Ron, and a good thing they paid attention to how their customers' needs were changing and built for that new reality (growing families). A lesson for more than cars.