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Richard Branson does it effectively from a hammock in the Necker Island, Warren Buffet has been doing it since he was 11, and Bill Gates used it to single-handedly build an empire.

Arguably the most powerful and effective managers in the world, these men have one thing in common – they owe their management acumen and success not to fancy business degrees from the hallowed portals of Harvard and Yale, but to plain old, not-so-common, common sense.
In short, the tricks you learned as a Ch*ld when you first embarked on an entrepreneurial endeavor with your own lemonade stand, still hold good in today’s cutthroat business world.

For those of you who’ve forgotten your first management lessons, here’s a back-to-basics primer to bring to the fore the principles and rules that really matter.
Self before service is the key here – Manage yourself first…

1. Open yourself to accept constructive criticism; learn and grow, not only from your mistakes, but from the mistakes of those around you too.

2. The buck stops with you – be prepared to accept responsibility for the actions of those working under you, especially when the issues concern your entire team.

3. Ignore the naysayers. Remember the story of the frogs in the well? If you don’t…Two frogs fell into a dry well and the other frogs took it for granted that they would die in there. When both attempted to jump their way out, the frogs outside discouraged from expending their energy on a hopeless task. Listening to them, one frog gave up his attempts. But the other made it out through his determination and single-mindedness. When asked how he made it in spite of the negative attitude of his fellow frogs, the survivor replied that he was deaf, and that he had thought the other frogs were cheering him on as he tried to get out of the well. Shows what a profound effect a positive outlook can have.

4. Understand that you are unique and different from other managers, and that is a good thing. Each industry demands different skills and varying aptitudes, which is why you should try to become more adept at your job rather than emulating another manager’s MO.

5. Ethics matter, both personally and in all your dealings. There are no caveats or strings attached to this rule, either you’re honest or you’re not.

6. Take risks – but make sure that they are calculated and not foolhardy. Toeing the safe and secure line never got anyone spectacular results.

7. Identify and grab opportunities before they slip through your net and jump back into the ocean of prospects. The Disney movie “14 Going on 30” has a remarkable dialog where one of the actors holds up a pumpkin seed and asks a class of teenagers what they see. When they state the obvious, he says, “You see a pumpkin seed, but I see possibilities.” The best managers see opportunity where others see nothing.

8. No issue is entirely about you, the whole team counts. Think more of “we” and less of “I”, and you'll have an environment conducive to success.

9. Manage and control your baser emotions like anger, hatred, envy and libido. Leave them behind when you come in to work each day. Remember that your behavior sets the tone of the office. The more professional you are, the more professional your team will be.

10. There’s always room for improvement, no matter how good you, or others, think you are. Learning and the pursuit of knowledge are like exploring the deep trenches in the oceans – they reveal new nooks and crannies each time you make the dive.