Autonomy Requires Peer Scrutiny, Not Boss Oversight

"General managers agers run their own businesses. They call their own shots. But they have to hold up their plans, decisions, and their results to the scrutiny of their peers. That's a very effective check against making impulsive decisions, sions, whether it's a multimillion-dollar capital investment vestment or a key promotion."

"These gatherings remind our general managers that their idea isn't the only idea, and that their answer isn't the only answer. They do that for each other three times a year. They may not always like it, but they know it's healthy."

"The greatest counterweight to divisiveness in Nucor is that the general managers of our divisions are also officers of our corporation. Most of the year, a general manager is preoccupied with running his own show. He thinks about his own revenue totals, his own profits, and his own return on assets employed. ployed. But three times each year-in November, February, and May-he takes off his general manager's ager's hat to focus on his role as an officer of the corporation. poration. He meets with the other general managers to set policies and make decisions that shape Nucor, as a whole. These meetings usually begin with a 3-to 4-hour session on a Wednesday evening, then run all day Thursday and Friday and, occasionally, into the weekend. In November, the general managers present budgets gets for their divisions for the upcoming year. They also outline their plans for capital expenditures. In February, we finalize the budgets and capital plans. The May meeting is devoted almost entirely to human resource issues, compensation, safety, and benefits. Collectively, the general managers created our personnel policies, and they refine them each May."