Job Responsibilities
Profit and loss responsibility for 700+ person organization,
including strategic planning (4 hours per week), marketing (8
hours per week), product development (8 hours per
week),production (16 hours per week), and post-delivery support
(4 hours per week) of military hardware.
Eight individuals, including 7 lower level Directors, responsible
for collaborating functional organizations, directly report to
the Director & General Manager.
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Job Requirements
A Bachelor's degree is a bare minimum for success as a General
Manager in an aerospace organization.
While not an explicit requirement, general management of an
organization involved in development, marketing, and production
of advanced military equipment is most successfully accomplished
by an individual with education and/or extensive, hands-on
experience in technical areas involved in the business.
A technical degree -- engineering, physics, chemistry -- is very
helpful, and almost mandatory for success. Breadth in
undergraduate studies is helpful -- including arts and social
sciences, as well as an accounting course or (at most) two.
An MBA may be marginally useful, but is much less important in
developing a successful career path than a strong technical
background.
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Uppers
One of the best parts of the job is the ability to facilitate and coordinate the
work of others to achieve goals that no single individual could envision or
accomplish.
Another good part of the job is developing and working closely with a strong
team of personnel working toward common goals.
Still another good part of the job is the ability to participate in a diverse
variety of projects and activities -- including those involving continuing
technical activities as a subject matter expert -- that continue to broaden and
deepen personal skills of the Director and General Manager.
Achievement of a high level of compensation is obviously a major plus!
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Downers
One of the worst parts of the job is maintaining continuous
concerns over the functioning of all parts of the organization.
While most detailed activities are delegated, all of the
important functions must be statused and coordinated -- which
inherently is stressful.
Another negative associated with the job is having to contend
with fawning and posturing by employees trying to gain favor or
simply being respectful in an inappropriate way.
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Lifestyle
Typical, work hours range from 60 to 75 hours each week. With some discipline,
this amounts to 11-12 hours per weekday, with an hour so each evening devoted to
briefcase cleaning and e-mail answering. When major flails develop, Saturday
and/or Sunday work is often required.
Surprisingly, business travel as a General Manager is less than as a lower level
Director or Manager -- probably because the lower level managers are handling
much of the remote work. In general, one or two trips a month are typical --
each of 2-3 days duration. Occasionally, three or four trips may be required in
a given month.
Annually, three or four company social events are held and require General
Manager support. These include a Christmas Party, 5 Km Walk, a barbeque, and a
party at a local attraction.
Regarding dress, executives generally wear business casual clothing -- wool or
wool-blend slacks and dress shirts -- while lower level managers and other
employees wear everything from business casual to chinos and golf shirts.
Work hours are nominally from 8 to 5, although some flexibility is available to
individuals who have particular needs. For managers and executives who have to
interact frequently and heavily with other employees, work hours usually begin
1/2 - 1 hour earlier and extend 1 - 2 hours beyond the above.
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Compensation
Base salary for a General Manager position in the Southeast US in
the aerospace industry may be expected to be in the $150-$200K
range, depending on the number of years of experience and
seniority of the individual.
Bonuses in the range of 30 - 40% of base salary are typical, with
departures from this range possible if performance is
significantly better or worse than expectations.
Stock options, including some reduced price options, are usually
available and -- depending on stock performance -- may generate
income of 20-40% of base salary.
Additionally, deferred compensation plans and -- in rare cases --
senior executive retirement provisions -- may be available.
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Advice to Jobseekers
Job seekers looking to ultimately move to a General Manager
position would do well to do the following: (1) Establish a
solid background of technical success in your field of expertise -
- become a subject matter expert; (2) Become the go-to guy for
solving the hardest problems, rather than a shrinking violet who
shies away from difficult/dangerous issues; (3) Go out of your
way to help others -- subordinates in your organization or peers
in other organizations within your company -- to broaden your
knowledge and experience across the company; (4) Don't change
jobs more frequently than every 2-3 years, the time necessary for
you to both learn the job and make a significant contribution to
the company in that position.
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