Management according to Dictionary.com is: the act or manner of managing; handling, direction, or control. Synonyms: regulation, administration; superintendence, care, charge, conduct, guidance, treatment. So let’s start with the bare bones of definition. The act or manner of managing – which of course is not a definition; handling, direction or control. These three words beg the questions: what is the goal, direction towards, what do we wish to control? There are 10s of thousands of companies out there who cannot answer these essential priority questions. There are 10s of thousands of managers who cannot answer these questions, and certainly, the bureaucrats have forgotten (if indeed they ever knew) what the questions is. I don’t mean to be rough here, what I do mean to do is get your attention. If the answer to any of these questions is money, then please, go back to working for a bank or finance company to fulfill your wildest dreams. Even congress will give you money.
However, if there really is a reason for the work you are doing – whatever that reason is – you must go back to the roots of your purpose, find the reason and identify it in a big way. Back in the 80s when we first started doing mission statements you could not participate unless you really felt the purpose of your work. That work did not have to be special in any way – you could manufacture high quality clothing – you could manufacture low quality clothing – you could sell cheap groceries – you could sell expensive groceries – it truly didn’t matter, it just had to be something that you could be committed to, that you could believe in.
The point of the mission statement was manifold, it established a beginning and a goal. It established a living connection between the goals and the people who espoused them. How do you go somewhere that you do not know of? How do you control something if you do not know where you are or where you want to be? Unfortunately, mission statements became trite PR tricks to mollify a public who had participated in the hippy generation of love and flower power. People quit using them or believing in them a decade ago.
It is unfortunate, because with the loss of mission statements, the baby went out with the bathwater. I say “go get the baby”! Each and every manager must, without fail, know the current position of what they are managing, each and every manager must know, without fail, the direction in which they are going. Each manager should know the purpose of the business and each manager must find a way to support the purpose of the business within themselves and in a fiscally responsible manner. I need to reiterate here that if the goal is money – go back to working in a bank or finance company.
Most work is a gift unto itself and must be honored as such. I’m not saying that folks have the choice of their dream jobs, I am simply stating that most find themselves doing work that aligns with who they are and where they are most comfortable. Carpenters will tell you that they like working with their hands, that they like creating, that they like building. You cannot be a barista unless you genuinely like people and love coffee, it’s just not done – for long, at least.
So plain and simple, step 1 of effective management of any type is this: can you, personally, identify the purpose of your work and then identify and align your personal purpose with that of the organization in which you spend your days? Step 2, do you know the current status of what you manage? Step 3, can you identify the goals of your management? Step 4, can you align steps 1, 2 & 3 with fiscal responsibility?
As each article in the series unfolds I will address, in depth, how to ask and how to answer these priority questions… Please stay tuned!