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Will You Add? - Managing from the Bottom-Up
If someday while going for a drive you come across a huge balloon floating in the middle of the sky, don't be amazed or come to the conclusion that a child has lost his balloon. It is the latest way of advertising an event, product or company. We all know that advertising takes different measures to attract customers and patrons. So how different is an advertising balloon?Well, advertising balloons are inflated with helium gas, which is a colorless odorless gas, lighter than air and is preferred over hydrogen because of its non-inflammability.You can choose from the wide number of advertising balloons available in the market, which comes in various sizes, shapes and colors, like:- Cold air inflatables - these balloons can b
Let us always remember that the word "management" begins with "man" for a purpose: it refers to how we interact with people and, as such, it is not a clerical or administrative f
According to Jerry Weissman in his book, “Presenting to Win,” there are over 30 million PowerPoint presentations given every day. Unfortunately, these presentations are not captivating or memorable. Thus, a lack of presentation training in America is creating a business culture that abuses presentation software and the art of public speaking. Let’s get back to the basics and adopt something I like to call the BRAVO formula.“B” is for Bold Boldness is about taking ownership. It’s about being courageous. You need to take control and own your content. No faking is allowed. The harsh reality is that faking it will not work in the public speaking arena. Audiences are far more perceptive than you think. Here are a few tips to
"Surround yourself with the best people you can find, delegate authority, and don't interfere." - Ronald Reagan (1986)
When the American colonies were forming a government in the 18th century, there was a fleeting notion that George Washington should become King with absolute power. Instead, our founding fathers opted for a democratic society where officials were elected by the people. The intent was to give the individual citizen a means to participate in the running of the government. This was a wise decision and has served America well for over 225 years. By being included in the process, people align their loyalties to the government and country, and are quick to come to its defense in times of national emergency. Involving the individual is a simple gesture that has had long range positive effects on our country.
It is an interesting dichotomy that whereas our country involves the individual, most of our other institutions do not. I have been fortunate to have traveled the world and have seen many different types of companies, from large to small, and in just about every field of endeavor imaginable. Most are run top-down with a benevolent (or maybe not so benevolent) dictator at the helm. Assignments, estimates and schedules are pushed down the corporate chain with little regard for the individual employee.
Over the years there has been a lot of discussion about Theories X, Y, and Z in management; whereas "X" is autocratic, "Y" is more of a "carrot and stick" mentality and "Z" promotes individual participation. Remarkably, despite the many years of promoting the rights of the worker, today we primarily live in a Theory X world. Employees are told what to do and when to do it, without any interest in their input. Today, this is commonly referred to as "micromanagement." Under this approach, although the work will eventually get done, there is no loyalty to the company by the employee, mistakes are made and quality suffers, and productivity declines since there is no personal sense of urgency by the employee. In other words, the company works, but not like a well-oiled machine.
More recently, I have noticed this same phenomenon occurring in non-profit volunteer organizations, such as homeowner associations, clubs, school organizations, sports associations, even church groups. The people that run these groups may have the best intentions, but rarely do they know how to actually manage. Sadly, some people get involved with such organizations to satisfy a petty power trip they are on. Consequently, they have little regard for organization and adherence to policies and rules. Instead, they try to micromanage everything. People, particularly volunteers, have a natural aversion to micromanagement and quickly lose interest in their work.
Let us always remember that the word "management" begins with "man" for a purpose: it refers to how we interact with people and, as such, it is not a clerical or administrative fu
Historical review in textile printingTextile printing is a method by which fabrics are printed in various colors, arts and designs. It is a very old art developed and created on fabrics in Egypt during 5000 B.C. Fabrics also found printed in Greek during 4th century. B.C, also it is noted that printing blocks were sourced from India in 5th century. B.C. During that time, France acknowledged as popular center of this type of cloth production and printing. Japan was popular for adding stencil work in wood by making blocks and further by pasting dies and prints it in fabrics.In the Mid-15th Century, with the invention of printing press by John Gutenberg there was a drastic change seen in printing technology and textile printing. Afte
It is an interesting dichotomy that whereas our country involves the individual, most of our other institutions do not. I have been fortunate to have traveled the world and have seen many different types of companies, from large to small, and in just about every field of endeavor imaginable. Most are run top-down with a benevolent (or maybe not so benevolent) dictator at the helm. Assignments, estimates and schedules are pushed down the corporate chain with little regard for the individual employee.
Over the years there has been a lot of discussion about Theories X, Y, and Z in management; whereas "X" is autocratic, "Y" is more of a "carrot and stick" mentality and "Z" promotes individual participation. Remarkably, despite the many years of promoting the rights of the worker, today we primarily live in a Theory X world. Employees are told what to do and when to do it, without any interest in their input. Today, this is commonly referred to as "micromanagement." Under this approach, although the work will eventually get done, there is no loyalty to the company by the employee, mistakes are made and quality suffers, and productivity declines since there is no personal sense of urgency by the employee. In other words, the company works, but not like a well-oiled machine.
More recently, I have noticed this same phenomenon occurring in non-profit volunteer organizations, such as homeowner associations, clubs, school organizations, sports associations, even church groups. The people that run these groups may have the best intentions, but rarely do they know how to actually manage. Sadly, some people get involved with such organizations to satisfy a petty power trip they are on. Consequently, they have little regard for organization and adherence to policies and rules. Instead, they try to micromanage everything. People, particularly volunteers, have a natural aversion to micromanagement and quickly lose interest in their work.
Let us always remember that the word "management" begins with "man" for a purpose: it refers to how we interact with people and, as such, it is not a clerical or administrative f
Back, (maybe I should say "way back") in the '80's, as a senior manager in Hewlett Packard Ltd.,UK, I was regularly asked to give talks to groups from both the public and private sectors.The most common themes were People Development, Performance Appraisal, Continuous Improvement and "Managing Change"I suppose it would be fair to say that my 'presentations' and discussions were somewhat animated with a great deal of walking about and mingling with the audience. So much so that I could not get comfortable with overheads and tended to use two flipcharts on which I could prepare key messages on one and take notes on the other especially when important points were made or questions were not answered fully.<
Over the years there has been a lot of discussion about Theories X, Y, and Z in management; whereas "X" is autocratic, "Y" is more of a "carrot and stick" mentality and "Z" promotes individual participation. Remarkably, despite the many years of promoting the rights of the worker, today we primarily live in a Theory X world. Employees are told what to do and when to do it, without any interest in their input. Today, this is commonly referred to as "micromanagement." Under this approach, although the work will eventually get done, there is no loyalty to the company by the employee, mistakes are made and quality suffers, and productivity declines since there is no personal sense of urgency by the employee. In other words, the company works, but not like a well-oiled machine.
More recently, I have noticed this same phenomenon occurring in non-profit volunteer organizations, such as homeowner associations, clubs, school organizations, sports associations, even church groups. The people that run these groups may have the best intentions, but rarely do they know how to actually manage. Sadly, some people get involved with such organizations to satisfy a petty power trip they are on. Consequently, they have little regard for organization and adherence to policies and rules. Instead, they try to micromanage everything. People, particularly volunteers, have a natural aversion to micromanagement and quickly lose interest in their work.
Let us always remember that the word "management" begins with "man" for a purpose: it refers to how we interact with people and, as such, it is not a clerical or administrative f
Most business owners strive to increase profit, while decreasing cost. If they don’t do these two things, they probably won’t be in business very long.But, there’s a third component to making your business successful. That component is: efficiency.If your business isn’t efficient, then eventually your profits will decrease, your expenses will increase, and your business will fail.When it comes to the janitorial expense, most business owners simply go with the lowest bidder, thinking that they’re keeping their cost low. However, ask yourself a question: how does the lowest bidder do it? How can they do what other companies do, while being 25-50% cheaper.I know, and soon you will too. Consider the following:
More recently, I have noticed this same phenomenon occurring in non-profit volunteer organizations, such as homeowner associations, clubs, school organizations, sports associations, even church groups. The people that run these groups may have the best intentions, but rarely do they know how to actually manage. Sadly, some people get involved with such organizations to satisfy a petty power trip they are on. Consequently, they have little regard for organization and adherence to policies and rules. Instead, they try to micromanage everything. People, particularly volunteers, have a natural aversion to micromanagement and quickly lose interest in their work.
Let us always remember that the word "management" begins with "man" for a purpose: it refers to how we interact with people and, as such, it is not a clerical or administrative f
Delegating....we all know we should do it, yet many of us find myriad reasons to avoid it. I even heard someone recently state that delegating is just a traditional management tool that doesn’t apply in his fast-paced world. He told me that he just wants everyone to roll up their sleeves and pitch in where they are needed....without prompting.Now that’s an interesting idea. Evidently he wants them to know exactly what to do without explanation, without a clear grasp of their level of authority or any confusion about roles. In other words, this manager wants a team of mind-readers! He probably gets frustrated and annoyed when conflicts arise due to lack of communication, and is mystified by the problems he’s created.I’ll grant you
Let us always remember that the word "management" begins with "man" for a purpose: it refers to how we interact with people and, as such, it is not a clerical or administrative function, but, rather, a people function; how to work with the human being, a very challenging task considering you are dealing with human beings who can be emotional, irrational, and just plain "thick." There is a countless number of books on the subject of "management" alone. But for our purposes, perhaps the best way to think of "management" is simply "getting people to do what you want, when you want it, and how you want it." If we lived in a perfect world, there would not be a need for managers; people would know what to do, and projects would be executed on time and within cost. However, as we all know, we live in an imperfect world. People do make mistakes and problems arise, hence, the need for "managers", people charged with assigning and directing the work of others. Managers are in the business of solving problems; people problems!
Some of the most productive organizations are those where management succeeded in getting the individual workers involved with the running of the company. Sure, management is still in control, but they have stimulated employee interests by encouraging their participation and feedback. Management still has some top-down responsibilities, including:
1. Delegate - prioritize and assign tasks to qualified employees.
2. Control work environment - minimize staff interferences and provide a suitable workplace to operate with the proper tools to perform the work.
3. Review progress - study employee reports and take corrective action where necessary.
Individual employees have bottom-up responsibilities to management:
1. Participate in the planning process - review work specifications and give feedback; estimate amount of time to perform an assignment, assist in the calculation of work schedules with management.
2. Perform work within time and costs constraints.
3. Report activities to management - including the use of time, interferences, and possible delays.
In this bottom-up approach, employees are treated as professionals and are expected to act as such in return. This results in far less supervision as found in micromanagement. Employees are delegated responsibility, supervise their own activities, and report to management on progress. This approach will work in any business, be it a corporation or non-profit volunteer organization. There is only one catch to this approach: some people resist assuming responsibility for their actions and prefer
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