Business Myths
(Originally
published Jan. 1997. V3, I1)
Do
you know a boss or manager who has to micromanage everything that happens in the office because he firmly believes the following
pertains to his company?
1.
My people can’t function without me.
2.
I have to watch everything they do to
prevent mistakes.
3.
My people can’t, or won’t, make
decisions without me.
The
problem with these ‘truths’ is that they are really myths.
The
reality surrounding these statements is somewhat different.
1.
The boss, or manager, has probably failed
to give authority to make routine decisions to his people who are in the best position to make a proper decision.
2.
The person who makes no mistakes is the person
who does nothing. Occasional mistakes mean people are trying something new and,
hopefully, innovative.
3.
This excuse only puts an unnecessary burden
on the boss.
What
can be done to rectify these situations?
1.
Have the employees’ job descriptions
explain which decisions they are to make on their own, and which decisions require discussion before action is taken. THEN LET THEM DO IT!
2.
Don’t come down on an employee who makes
an occasional mistake. Many times the ‘error’ is nothing more than
“I would have done it a different way.” If the results are the same,
let it go without comment. If an employee can accomplish the task at hand in
a way comfortable to the employee, you will get more from the employee.
3.
Train the employees in the decision making
procedure. Don’t try to give them the answer to all problems since that
is impossible. When a decision has to be made, ask the employee what decision
would they make. If the decision will get the correct results, let them go with
it, even if you would do it another way. If the employee’s decision is
acceptable, but is substantially more costly or less efficient to do, explain that their idea is good but should be modified
to correct the costliness or inefficiency.
Note
that the operative word in the last sentence of item 3 above is ‘substantially’.
You must be secure enough in yourself to not have to ‘prove’ yourself over every little matter.
Micromanagement
can destroy the efficient operation of the most talented people. If you really
believe the first three myths, you then don’t need any employees since you do all the work. Think about it!
* * * *
Management by Crisis
This
is not the same as crisis management.
If
you find someone in your organization who always seems to be getting tasks done ‘just in the nick of time’, you
will also probably find someone who is always becoming involved in other people’s projects. By involving themselves in everyone else’s job gives them the excuse that they didn’t have
the time to get their own job done earlier. If you kept a good log of what you
do during the day, you will find that the calls you took while in the middle of an important task could probably have waited
till the end of the day, or getting involved in something that was the responsibility of others, resulted in you not
having ‘enough time’ to complete the task at hand easily.
My
theory concerning the above phenomenon is that by pushing the project down to the last minute gives you the excuse if you
err in any way. “I was lucky to get it finished at all” will be
heard, loud and clear. If there are no errors, you look good because you can
work under ‘pressure’ (even if it is self-imposed pressure. If something
is not exactly correct, “What can you expect; I didn’t have enough time to check it out completely”. It is a win-win situation for the procrastinator, and possibly a lose-lose situation
for the organization.
If
you have enough time to do the correctly, you should have enough time to allow someone else to double check your work. As Norm Abram, of the Yankee Workshop, says, “Measure twice, cut once.”
The
only mistake is for the product or service to get to the customer in less than perfect condition. Any error, caught and corrected, before getting to the customer is not a problem. It may be a nuisance, but it is better than always being on the edge.
