“In business, you should treat your employees like they can vote. It doesn’t mean you’re going to get everybody to vote for you. But you kind of try to kiss the babies and shake the hands and tell ’em you appreciate ’em and would like them to support you. You can do it like a dictator, but I’m not sure very many of them in the long run are successful.”

Daniel P. Amos, Chief Executive, Aflac

As per usual, the Corner Office in the NY Times offers sage advice from a long time manager. Amos, of the insurance leader, Aflac, put in his two cents on what makes a good manager. Amos, who said he’s been managing people since he was in his 20s, offers advice on both how to handle your troops and how not handle them. He also touches on the subject of failure, which we’ve brought up on the blog quite a lot lately. Here are a few excerpts:

Q. Any mistakes you made early on?

A. I worked with another guy, and he was not a people person. He would say things that were taken the wrong way. I was very good at listening and watching, and I was able to pick up that sometimes candor does not pay off. You have to massage the issues in certain ways. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve tempered things even more so. And I think that’s the way to do it.

Some people you have to knock over the head with a two-by-four. But as a general rule, it’s much easier to try to subtly tell people what they need to do.

Q. What else did you learn to do as a young manager?

A. One thing I did that was probably different: I never had a sales meeting that I didn’t either have a customer letter read or a customer there.

In sales you get caught up in trying to tell people how they can make more money and how they can make their quota. I always felt it was important for the fundamentals of our business that you understand why people ultimately buy. Because there’s nothing higher than a salesman’s high, and there’s nothing lower than a salesperson’s low. So, you try to level it out because you don’t want to get too high, because when they fall, they really fall. So, I would always keep those claimants in front of them so they could see they were providing a service to people.

Q. What was the most important leadership lesson you learned?

A. Well, that’s a hard question. I majored in risk management and insurance, and there were three principles: don’t risk a lot for a little, don’t risk more than you can afford to lose, and consider the odds. And in everything I’ve done in business, I’ve always used those principles as the guiding light.

I would also say, make sure you motivate people because they ultimately are getting the job done for you.

On Failure…

A. I go back to the three principles of risk management. I tend to be aggressive in marketing but cautious everywhere else. The duck is a good example of being aggressive. To make fun of your name is something that’s kind of scary, but I thought it might work. It was a hard decision, but I finally decided, “no guts, no glory,” and we needed to try it. I was ready to pull it immediately if it didn’t work.

Q. Tell me about your management style.

A. I’ve always spent a lot of time choosing the right person for a job. But I think most people will tell you that I tend to be the inquisitor who will ask a million questions. When I get on something, I do not get off till it’s done, and I will call you and ask you and stay on you until it thunders.

My theory is that when you start telling people what to do, they no longer are responsible; you are. I’ll give them my opinion and say: “Look, this is my opinion, but if you choose that and you fail, you’re not blaming it on me. It is your fault.” I think it makes them stronger. I have no qualms with people making mistakes. But if you lose confidence in them, then you can’t keep them.

Q. Any feedback on your leadership or management style that has led you to make adjustments?

A. I make some people nervous, because I’m very inquisitive and sometimes do rapid-fire questions — if that’s true, then how about this, and how about that, and how about this? It makes them real nervous. So if it’s somebody new who’s coming in, they always warn them.

But I tend to be a little softer now than I used to be and say, “Why don’t you go get me an answer on these, and let’s set up another meeting?” It’s O.K. for you to tell me you don’t know the answer and get back to me. But if you really want to get me, try to fake an answer. That’s the biggest mistake.