Shallow Management

by Don Harkey

I'm going to start the week of with one of my rants... I feel OK doing this, since many of you have told me that my rants yield some of your favorite articles.

I am not one of those people who believe that "greed" is what got us into the economic situation we are in today, although it has played a role. I do not believe that corporations are evil or good (they just are) nor do I believe that rich people are bad or good (they just have money). I am a big fan of personal responsibility not only because it encourages people to get less dependent on others, but also because it makes people enjoy their lives more.

However, I am sick and tired of what has prevailed as the corporate, MBA (I am NOT knocking MBA's, but I do criticize the things many MBA schools teach) mentality that seems to infest larger corporations. The management style I am referring to is something I have called "shallow-end of the pool" management or SEP Management.

SEP Management is a style where management from executives all the way down to some front-line supervisors refuse to engage in the work being done by their company. They consider themselves above the work going on around them and say that they need to maintain a high level, professional view of the organization in order to function. They are ready to make the "tough" decisions, although amazingly, the tough decisions tend to be tough only for other people.

Ethics are often thrown out of the window with these types of managers, although not in the way that we are taught in Ethics 101 courses. Let me give you an example...

I recently approached a major author within a major company with a majorly good idea. The idea is really good, and I was ready to execute the idea, but I needed the permission of the author and the company to do so. I managed to find an inside contact with the author (a former teacher of his) and get his direct email. I sent a vague description of the idea after an introduction from my connector. His assistant wrote back that I might be able to get 5 minutes of his time in 3-4 months. She went on... perhaps I should send more information on the idea.

Knowing that I couldn't procede without them, I wrote a quick synopsis of the idea along with how I could execute the idea and promote their company and book with just a simple approval. The assistant wrote back within a few minutes of receiving the email saying that this she would "put it in front" of the author "immediately". A few weeks later, I got an email response from the company. They were "already pursuing" the idea and thanked me for my time and wished me and my company luck.

I have no way of knowing whether or not they were pursuing the idea already or not, although I suspect they were not. I also have no way of knowing what happened inside the walls of the company. Having worked in a corporate environment, I have imagined a fictious meeting in my head between the author and some executives...

Author - "I got this idea from this guy in Springfield forwarded by a former teacher of mine. I really think he might be on to something."

Executive #1 - "That is a good idea."

Executive #2 - "Does this guy have any legal right to the idea? We own the book and its material. The application is open source. Does he have any legal grounds? Do we HAVE to use him if we executed this?"

Executive #1 - "No. He has no legal right to this. We can easily pursue it on our own."

Author - "What should I tell him?"

Executive #1 - "Tell him thanks, but don't give him too much info. He may not have a legal basis, but we don't need to upset him either. We probably would have come up with this concept sooner or later anyway..."

(END SCENE)

I don't know if that is what happened or not, but I have heard about too many similar meetings occuring in meeting rooms (and sat in more than a few of them). The technique is one of dismissal and separation. The question is quickly turned from one of ethics to one of legalities. No one even dares to discuss the "right thing to do" because it has "nothing to do" with business.

This is SEP thinking.

There is good news, however. SEP thinking is not only wrong, it is also ineffective. Managers who treat people the right way do better than those who don't. Companies who reward these types of managers and shun SEP managers do better than those who don't. The free market really does work, but credit for good ideas get squashed from time to time!