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Clive Shearer
Management
by Design
By Clive Shearer

November 8, 2000

Management in the balance

By CLIVE SHEARER
Special to the Journal

Balance: some would argue that peak management requires one to drive a stable organization to the threshold of disaster and balance it there indefinitely. Others, preferring to be a little less dramatic, see balance as the art of finding the perfect equilibrium between the demands of clients, profits and personnel.

Let us examine management using the earth as a metaphor. At the surface, we find business development with many people scurrying about looking for an opening. One school wants to explore the entire topography, from the mountaintops to valleys, pursuing every opportunity.

Another school believes in staying in one place and establishing roots, working only with current clients.

Accepting every opportunity can lead to unprofitable work. Being too selective can leave you with too little to do. The balance is to maintain selectivity by defining client acceptability criteria.

The next stratum of activity, immediately beneath the surface, is proposal preparation. On one hand, one could happily pursue high-risk clients and projects. On the other hand, one could estimate only those projects that are very safe, amazingly easy and highly profitable. The balance is to assess risk, evaluate current project workload, write a well-considered proposal with clear disclaimers and unambiguous exclusions, and add a reasonable profit margin.

Beneath the proposal stratum, one finds layers of work activity. Here, some managers allow their project personnel to run jobs their own way, dig their own tunnels and mine the ore in any way they wish.

Others insist on management by the book, shored up with rigid standards and procedures.

The balance is to provide managers with guidelines and checklists, and allow for individual judgment within that framework.

Continuing the metaphor, below the earth's solid crust, one encounters the magma, the molten substance of the planet. Here is where we find the realm of management decision-making.

One school of thought says managers should discuss all issues with everybody, be flexible and try to please everyone.

Another school suggests involving as few as possible, getting little or no input, and making all decisions based on one's own experience and instincts.

The balance would be to maintain a fluid approach, consult with those involved, sample opinion and make a decision based on the relevant input received.

Micro management, at the core, means getting involved in every single technical detail and insisting on being consulted on every single activity.

Macro management, at the core, calls for one to delegate everything.

The balance is to be involved in concepts and directions, perspectives and strategies, and delegate day-to-day implementation.

When the earth's crust shifts due to an imbalance, the magma, under pressure, may find a way to the surface. The result is a volcanic eruption. When companies find themselves in a crisis, management, under pressure, may have an eruption on its hands. This is unsettling, messy, noisy, disruptive and possibly even disastrous to the organization.

Staying in balance, at all levels of management, will allow one to resist the everyday pressures and maintain equilibrium through fairness, a humanistic approach, a clear head and a systematic style of operation. This allows the golden ore to be profitably mined with the minimum disruption and the maximum satisfaction to those who inhabit the planet.


Clive Shearer is a professional trainer, educator and retreat facilitator and can be reached at cgb9@yahoo.com


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