Great Scott! A Case Study in Accidental Management

by Don Harkey

I love "The Office", a sitcom currently airing on NBC. There are not many shows that I follow, but this one is funny, well-written, and hits close to home on a topic I love... management.

If you don't watch the series, I will give you a short backdrop. The show is about a branch of a mid-sized paper company and the happenings around the (you guessed it) office. The branch manager, Michael Scott, is played brilliantly by Steve Carell as an insecure, self-centered, politically incorrect, bumbling, and yet very likeable manager who likes his company, loves his people, and somehow manages to make his way through life. The program style like a continuous documentary with unseen cameramen following the characters around.

In the show, the company is struggling and is shutting down some of its branches. In a recent episode, Michael Scott is invited to the corporate office by the CFO to talk about "the big picture" (a phrase which Michael admits to having never heard before). Believing he is in some sort of trouble (because he usually is), he is surprised when the CFO reports that Michael's branch is the only branch that is actually successful. The CFO asks him, "what is the secret to your success?".

Michael enters into a passionate, yet incoherent monologue using catch phrases and absolutes. The CFO listens patiently, quietly amazed that Michael has been so successful. There are 2 key points here. First of all, Michael is successful. Second of all, he has no clue why he is successful.

While the show presents a caricature of corporate life, this drives in a major point. I believe one of the biggest causes of management mistakes is caused by misinterpreting the true causes of success (or failure).

This can be seen in the field of coaching all of the time. Larry Brown was one of the most successful coaches in the history of basketball. Yet when he was given the opportunity to coach the "Dream Team" in the Olympics, his team failed miserably.

There are many other examples in the world. Not too many years ago, General Electric CEO Jack Welsh was considered by many to be the greatest CEO of all time. Today, many people question whether he was successful or destructive. Harry Truman left office as one of the most unpopular Presidents in U.S. History and yet today he is consistently ranked as one of the best.

Sometimes the true factors that lead to success are not understood, even while they are accidentally being applied. A supervisor might implement a recognition program one week that is an incredible success and then try to duplicate the program in another department and fail miserably.

The key to overcoming this is to constantly evaluate and look for patterns in success. Times when success (or failure) is expected but not observed are opportunities to refine "the laws of success". The formula can be complex, but you can learn a lot from your experiences and even more from the experiences of others!

Here is a sample of wisdom from Michael Scott...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bVVsDIv98TA