Management is More than Following Rules

One of the major obstacles that I have encountered in my experience is that organizations develop rules and policies to govern certain actions and establish guidelines for operations; however, at times, these rules cause harm to the organization.

An example:  A policy on straight budget cuts, for instance, 3% cut in all time/pay.  At the same time, the organization wants to accomplish some key/priority projects and initiatives.  The amount of work required in a short timeframe to achieve the objectives requires that staff work overtime, hence violating the "rule-based" budget savings.  However, the project or initiative may result in savings or revenue that surpasses the original 3% "savings".  When the decision is made to either push the work forward or adhere to the rule, the decision many times is..."The rule says...you can't do this...you can't go over 40 hours; that's the rule! Etc."

Good, effective management will make decisions in the best interest of the organization and on a case by case basis, which at times may violate the rules because it makes business sense.  A manager that only adheres to rules is not an effective problem solver, decision maker or necessarily useful in a dynamic environment.

Absurd example:  One organization's rule was that staff should not have "Personal Identifiable Information" laying around that someone could misuse in some form, for instance, Social Security Numbers.  This rule does make sense in protecting peoples identify from theft, so it's a good rule.  However, on one occasion, an IT systems tester had created a fictitious person, "Mickey Mouse" with a SS# of "333-44-1234" and was running this "person" through the system to verify the results.  One IT manager noticed a printout on the printer laying around with the Mickey Mouse and SS# and became very concerned.  So, he approached the staff member to say, "You can't have this type of information laying around, it needs to be secured!"  The staff member, replied that, "... it's fake, made up data to test the system!"  The reply was, "We can't tell so it could be misused!"  What value did this manager provide taking up two people's time and harassing an employee trying to do his/her job?  This manager is VERY risk averse and his only purpose is to find things wrong, not necessarily help solve problems.  Anyone can create a series of fake numbers from their head, which might even turn out to be a real social security number, but how is that useful if it can't be tied to a real name a real date of birth or other information about a real person so it could be misused?

Selecting and Managing Quality Staff.

One of the best statements I have seen on selecting people is from General Colin Powell:

"Powell's Rules for Picking People:  Look for intelligence and judgment, and most critically, a capacity to anticipate, to see around corners. Also look for loyalty, integrity, a high energy drive, a balanced ego, and the drive to get things done."

Not so good:  This statement sums up some very key attributes of what makes a quality staff member.  Many times, on paper, a person seems extremely qualified, but later you find: (a) they can't plan, (b) they can't work in teams, (c) they are overly dependent and needy, (d) they are high maintenance both personally and professionally, (e) all you hear is negativity and how things can't work/can't be done, (f) they are constantly trying to define boundaries around task assignments to limit the size of the work and their involvement or to pass the complexities to someone else, and many other reasons.

Desired:  The most effective and useful staff member is one: (a) who is proactive - who finds work, (b) who looks for ways to do things never thought of before by management and team leaders/members, (c) who solves problems and makes everyone's lives a little better, (d) who likes challenge and doesn't mind a little risk, (e) who is conscientious and committed, at least to the responsibilities of the job and (f) who doesn't need someone monitoring and micro-managing each and every piece of work they are assigned. 

It is important to challenge these types of people and allow them flexibility, both personally and professionally so that they can be creative and empowered to act.  If you are stuck with a "Not so good" staff member, consider replacing them.  Sometimes, one negative person or weak link brings the whole team down and getting rid of him or her, let's the whole team blossom!

Why a blog on "Growing Companies"?

I created this blog to serve as a resource to help growing companies - small businesses who are just starting out, going up to companies with annual revenues in the range of $250 million - with solid, experienced business advice and resources to help them better manage their businesses and keep them growing.

I had a professor in college who once mentioned, "...when hiring a consultant, ask for seven (7) references..." When I first heard this, I thought why so many, normally three (3) are good enough. His reply was, "...you don't want your organization to be the teaching ground for your consultants; let them get their feet wet somewhere else and apply solid, tested concepts in your organization..." So, if they can supply seven (7) references related to your business' needs, chances are they have been around and can provide relevant value to your organization.

The intent of this blog is to provide seasoned and tested materials, concepts, methods and strategies to help businesses get started and grow.