The one big management lesson from the Second World War was that command-and-control leadership in the style of the military gets things done. Huge things. Seemingly impossible things. A bit ironically, it saved the world for Democracy.
Backing this up, look at the number one selling international management handbook of the past century. Blanchard's The One Minute Manager? Close, but no. Peter's In Search of Excellence? Again, that's up there, but not number one. No, the best selling management book of the past century is Sun Tzu's age-old military classic, The Art of War. You want to get things done? Looking to win at commerce, to vanquish your foes? Lead your business like it's an army, from the top down.
Here's the thing, though: top-down leadership creates vast waste of human talent. It motivates us to do what the big boss orders, but it also turns off our inner drive to exceed when no one's watching, or monitoring, or counting one acute measurement of our output.
Order your people around, and they'll do the bare minimum to keep their jobs. Measure their performance by the numbers, and they'll give you those numbers - and very little more. Think for them, and they'll stop thinking for themselves - they'll stop thinking for you, for your company.
People are smart. They start a new job eager to give of themselves. A growing handful of companies get that, and encourage that, and benefit tremendously from that. Most still don't.
Look at my favorite list of successful businesses, Fortune Magazine's 100 Best Companies to Work For. Out of those 100, how many are not just popular with their people, but also thriving despite this weak economy? And how many squelch their employees' natural talent and drive with command-and-control, by-the-numbers management styles?
Have you read The Art of War lately? You notice that Sun Tzu is kind of a psycho? Few talented people would choose to work for him today.
...And as I've shared in previous posts, one of the key hallmarks of the Twenty-First Century is choice of employment. Just watch as the economy continues to pick up. We're about to see job migration on an unprecedented scale. Business rulers: prepare to kiss your best talent goodbye as they flee to more enlightened corporate cultures.
My guess is that, as a competitive necessity, top-down management will fall out of favor in this exciting new century. My guess is that Blanchard, or Peters, or Daniel Pink (author of the must-read Drive), or another more enlightened management guru, will finally surpass Sun Tzu's sales. It's about time!
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This is part 3 of a 5-part series.
So now we have "Sun-Tzu was a Sissy" and "Sun Tzu was a pyscho." I disagree with Sun Tzu more than a little. I've often pondered why people make such drastic connections between business and military. People who work for companies do so voluntarily. The military has you locked into a 4 years contract. This produces to very different management styles.
ReplyDeleteOnce again...another great post, Ted. More and more, employers are seeing that the up-and-coming workforce are actually interviewing them, not so much the other way around anymore. Although the "slave to the grind" and "Drill Sargent" mentality are no longer applicable in today's organization (for a long list of reasons), I do believe that Sun Tzu's message/methodology on positioning (see link) still stand true today.
ReplyDeleteI think David is absolutely right with his business vs. military comment. The results and styles are very different. Obviously, I didn't see what you wrote that way and I am glad that he mentioned it. I saw it as a way for an entrepreneur to "plan his attack" by simply planning ahead and being open minded enough to allow and adjust for the unknown.
I see it as an act of "Rewiring." Businesses need to rewire themselves culturally to get results through collaborative means and not command-and-control; they need to rewire themselves technologically to use data and tools that help collaboration inside and outside the enterprise; and, they need to rewire themselves philosophically to be open and transparent to the world outside.
ReplyDeleteHaving said that, it is hard to beat a book that is in public domain and is available at all costs including $0!
(Just discovered your blog. Thanks for your thoughts!)
I think that it could be called WAR becouse you need to make decisions in just seconds without doubts.
ReplyDeleteThat was what chris van someren taught me.
Ted, thanks for yet another excellent and provocative post!
ReplyDeleteLess often read or quoted than Sun-Tzu, but less quirky and perhaps more profound is A. T. Mahan's "The Influence of Seapower Upon History". It's subtle in that the wisdom is wrapped around detailed history of naval battles, thus often overlooked.
I agree with you. If it's war, then what happens when everyone decides we don't want to do it any more. A company should be a mission to improve lives. The highest calling is to improve the lives of the people who invest their lives - your employees. Shame on us for chasing and courting customers and investors and the media. We build meaningful, make-a-difference organizations by focusing on the people who work with us. We continuously improve, eliminate waste, treat our customers, investors and vendors better, and serve the community and the world once we make that initial shift.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the great series.
Mike...