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Management by Fad
Management is always an interesting topic in the
world of business. It’s something that some of us do better than others,
and it requires a diverse set of skills that it never hurts to update or
refresh. Unfortunately, it’s also an area that’s targeted by one fad
after another, usually for the purposes of selling a publication penned
by an ‘expert’ that claims to have discovered some revolutionary new
method of management.
‘One Minute Manager’, ‘Management by Design’, ‘Strategic Management’,
‘Management of the Absurd’ – there’s no shortage of management styles to
learn, but are they really as new as their authors would have you
believe? Are they something that could add value to your business life,
or are they just a rehash of the same old stuff with a few new twists?
Management fads come and go, just like other fads that have their day
then disappear. How many lava lights do you have in your home now, or
mood rings, or Rubik’s cubes? Yet at one time each of these was a ‘must
have’ item.
Management fads are similar, although most of them are based on
something that’s already being practiced in the world of business and
many could be of some value if applied intelligently. So
the real question is, which
management ‘fads’ are worth considering for use in your firm?
One of the best things about management fads is that they quickly become
topics of discussion. Everybody knows about them and is eager to add his
or her comment to the conversation, so they generally get a good airing
among those most likely to adopt them. They often incorporate
terminology or ‘buzzwords’ that quickly spread into popular use and
inspire the media to examine them.
Another benefit is that anybody who seriously works to try one of these
fads has to make an evaluation of their own management style somewhere
along the way and that’s always helpful.
The worst aspect is that blindly
adopting one of these fads without really understanding it or its
consequences can produce worse management outcomes than before its
adoption. They can become substitutes for in-depth management
development and even be seen as a cure-all for management failings.
Giving a poor manager a new and often untested set of tools to learn and
use is probably not going to result in the creation of a good manager.
Sad to say, when those high-up in an organization try to overlay some
new managerial fad onto every level of management in the business it can
create serious problems if success doesn’t follow quickly. Top
management blames middle management for the perceived failure and morale
drops along with productivity. The fad is eventually discarded and the
next attempt at genuine reform is sure to be resisted by those that are
needed to carry it out.
But new books on management are always going to be published and sooner
or later you may read one that inspires you to implement its contents in
your organization. Here are some guidelines to help you can avoid the
problems we’ve mentioned and give something new in the way of management
a real chance to succeed.
1. Study. Whatever it is you want to try, study the subject
carefully. Don’t just blindly follow one author’s road to publishing
riches; read everything you can on the topic and be sure you understand
it thoroughly before even beginning to apply it in your firm.
2. Know what’s going to happen before you start. You must be able
to predict the business outcomes of the changes you’re implementing and
that includes quantifying their costs and their benefits.
3. Involve your team from the beginning. Give everyone in a
managerial role a copy of your inspirational source and give them a
chance to study it. Meet with them and gain their feedback; ask them how
they think it will impact on your firm and whether they feel positively
or negatively about it.
4. Work with your team on the way or ways the new management
practices will be applied to the firm. Give them a feeling of
ownership and gain their buy-in or even a good idea probably won’t
succeed.
5. Train. Develop a training course in the new method so that
everyone knows precisely what it is they have to do to implement it. Set
a realistic timeline for getting the project in place and don’t rush
into anything until the knowledge has been acquired by all those who
need it, from top management to junior team members.
6. Monitor the metrics. Keep track of how close you are to
meeting all your targets and share this information with your team. The
results of applying new management techniques usually lag well behind
the positive outcomes created, and for a time at the beginning you may
even see negative results.
Not all management fads deserve rejection and some can have lasting
value for those that adopt them intelligently. Follow these six
guidelines and don’t be in a hurry to change your firm overnight. If
it’s worth doing it’s worth doing with the longer-term in mind.
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