What's Best Next

You are here: Home / Blog

Is It Really More Efficient to Remove Layers of Management?

by

From What Were They Thinking?: Unconventional Wisdom About Management:

Isn’t it better to have fewer managers and a flatter structure?

The answer, according to both Edmondson’s research and the experience of Southwest Airlines as described by Jody Hoffer Gittell, is it depends on what the managers do.

If they just give orders and assign blame if things go wrong, you’re probably better off with fewer of them.

But if leaders actually help people coordinate and learn, more are better.

Good point. He continues:

The problem with having fewer managers is actually quite simple: since people have been taken out of the organization, those that remain have more to do unless something has been done to decrease the total workload.

And there are fewer people in the organization to ensure coordination, reflection, and learning. In order for leaders to act as coaches, there must be enough leaders to do the coaching.

Just as coaches help their teams perform better by standing on the sidelines and providing perspective and information that players in the thick of things might otherwise miss, so in companies it is useful to have people whose job responsibility includes learning, coaching, teaching, and reflecting, or else those activities won’t occur.

The Best Career Advice You Were Never Told

by

The most effective people make career choices for fundamental reasons, not instrumental reasons.

That’s one of the key take-aways from Dan Pink’s excellent book The Adventures of Johnny Bunko: The Last Career Guide You’ll Ever Need.

Dan Pink’s book is excellent on two counts. First, it presents the material in a creative and engaging way: the book is actually the first American business book in manga. I was slightly familiar with this approach because the resource team at DG worked with some people a few years ago to adapt some of John Piper’s content to a graphic novel format. Dan Pink has done the same thing here, except to teach career principles.

Second, the content is helpful — and counterintuitive. Here are the six lessons of the book:

  1. There is no plan.
  2. Think strengths, not weaknesses.
  3. It’s not about you.
  4. Persistence trumps talent.
  5. Make excellent mistakes.
  6. Leave an imprint.

If I can, maybe I’ll do a series that briefly covers each of these points.

For now, here’s some advice for those who aren’t sure what to do next: make your next choice for fundamental reasons, not instrumental reasons.

Here’s how Pink explains it (via one of the characters in the book):

You can do something for instrumental reasons — because you think it’s going to lead to something else, regardless of whether you enjoy it or it’s worthwhile.

Or you can do something for fundamental reasons — because you think it’s inherently valuable, regardless of what it may or may not lead to.

And the dirty little secret is that instrumental reasons usually don’t work. Things are too complicated, too unpredictable. You never know what’s going to happen [and note that this is biblical! Proverbs 20:24; 16:9; James 4; etc.]. So you end up stuck. The most successful people — not all of the time, but most of the time — make decisions for fundamental reasons.

They take a job or join a company because it will let them do interesting work in a cool place — even if they don’t know exactly where it will lead.

There’s the key idea. If you don’t know what you want to do next, do what you think is inherently valuable. You don’t need to know where it will lead. And, almost certainly, it will lead to someplace interesting, because, first, you already are doing something interesting (that was the point of your choice!) and, second, we are more effective when we are doing what we love to do.

And even if you do have a clear goal for where you want to end up (which is a good thing), don’t fall into the trap of thinking that you will best get there by making a bunch of instrumental choices to do things you don’t really want to do, but which will “keep your options open” and eventually let you get closer to your interests. This approach usually backfires. Instead, have your large goal, but stay open to seizing unplanned opportunities to help get you there, and along the way seek to follow the path of doing what you find inherently valuable.

Crossway Impact: Rewards with a Mission

by

I’m excited about Crossway Impact, the new rewards program with Crossway Books.

I like this program because it not only offers readers several annual benefits, but also enables you to send 5% of the money you spend to a ministry of your choice. This is a helpful variation on the one for one idea, pioneered by places like TOMS Shoes (which gives one pair of shoes to someone in the developing world for every pair that you buy), because, in the very act of making your purchase, you are able to make an impact beyond your purchase.

So, way to go to Crossway for doing this. (And, if you can’t guess, I would suggest designating your 5% to go to Desiring God — but any of the ministries they offer would be a good choice!)

Here’s the description from the Crossway site:

Here at Crossway, we’ve been thinking of better ways to serve our readers and partner with like-minded ministries.

That’s why we’ve created Crossway Impact—a rewards program for readers who want to invest their resources wisely—buying books AND making an impact.

Crossway Impact is designed to reward our readers with the following annual benefits:

  • 3 FREE books (choose print or e-books from a monthly list which must ship with a purchase of any amount)
  • 25% OFF all your purchases on Crossway.org
  • Free shipping on orders over $50
  • Exclusive monthly offers

Crossway Impact also gives you an opportunity to make a difference with every book you buy by sending 5% of the money you spend at Crossway.org to a ministry of your choice. Now, ministries like Desiring God, The Resurgence, and Revive Our Hearts will benefit right along with you—a real win-win.

For the first year of the program, we’re making these benefits available to as many Crossway readers as possible by letting you determine the value of your rewards (worth at least $40 in free books alone!). The only thing you have to do is name your own membership fee.

It’s as simple as that.

Crossway Impact Members get a year-long discount, free books and shipping, special offers, and the chance to make an impact with every purchase. We hope you’ll join us by signing up today.

Proposal for a Message at the 2011 Web 2.0 Conference

by

This is a proposal I submitted for the 2011 Web 2.0 Conference. Though it was a secular conference, I submitted a proposal on how there is a biblical basis for web usability because it seemed that that topic would be of general interest. I’m posting it here as an example of doing public theology — that is, of seeking to bring a gospel-centered perspective on things into the wider culture in a (hopefully!) winsome, appropriate, and respectful way.

Description (65 words)

Website usability is not simply a good idea; there is actually a case to be made for it from the Bible. This transforms not only how we understand usability, but also how we understand all of our work. Now matter what your religious views, it is surprising (and helpful!) to see that the Bible has something to say about even the more sophisticated aspects of everyday life and work.

Full Description

The first principle for an effective content strategy is: have excellent content and make your site _usable_. You want users to think hard about your content–not about how to use your site.

But usability doesn’t only make your site better and more effective. There is also a case to be made for it from the Bible, because it is a way of serving your users.

This session will show how usable websites are an expression of the core biblical commandments to “love your neighbor as yourself” (Luke 10:27) and put others before ourselves (Philippians 2:4). Even for those who do not have religious beliefs, or who do not share a belief in the authority of the Bible, it can transform our work to see it not simply as a job or a way of making money, but also as a way of serving and doing good for others.

Secular thinkers such as Patrick Lencioni and Howard Schultz and even Tom Peters have long pointed out that work is not just about the work, but serving others and even uplifting the human spirit (see, for example, the beginning of Schultz’s latest book, “Onward: How Starbucks Fought for Its Life Without Losing Its Soul,” or the last chapter of Lencioni’s “The Three Signs of a Miserable Job” or Tom Peter’s discussion of “transcendence” in our work in “In Search of Excellence”). This session will show how these thinkers are echoing an even greater reality that is in tune with the worldview of the Bible itself. We will also make an application to exactly why usability is a matter of serving others well, and how understanding usability in this way motivates even greater excellence–for since excellence is hard work, it is ultimately only possible when we put others (in this case, the user) before ourselves.

Seeing these things is not only surprising and engaging in itself, but will also give those who attend a snapshot into the worldview of many of their own web visitors, as a majority of web users do have at least a loose religious affiliation and concern for spiritual issues.

Additional Information

The purpose of this session is not to persuade people about religion or create any controversy in any way at all. People can choose to believe what they want, and my aim here is not to address any controversial issues.

Rather, it is simply interesting and illuminating to see that the Bible has things to say about the everyday things we do in life–including really cool things like interactive design and making sites usable. Even (especially) people who have no religious viewpoints or do not hold to the Bible as a special book will find this session interesting as they see how a book that many in our culture _do_ hold in high regard has very engaging things to say about everyday life and the world of technology.

While the content of my session will be engaging and interesting and surprising, it will not be religiously controversial. The compelling and interesting thing is the fact _that_ the Bible has relevance to these things, and _how_ this is so. And that is broadly interesting and applicable. Additionally, this session will help meet the diversity value listed in the criteria by which sessions are selected, as it looks at web design from a unique perspective not typically addressed at the conference, while also shedding light for attendees into how many of their users think about the world (as 50% + of the population does at least have some lose religious affiliation).

Be a Resource, Not a Limiter

by

The people that are most helpful in any organization are those who take initiative, rather than simply doing what they are told. What organizations need from their people is engagement, not mere compliance. (And, conversely, this is what makes a job most satisfying — being engaged, rather than simply seeking to comply).

This has implications for managers as well. If you manage in a certain way (namely, with a command and control focus), you incentivize compliance. But if you realize that management is not about control, but rather about helping to unleash the talents of your people for the performance of the organization, and that this comes from trusting your people and granting them autonomy, then you see yourself not as the “boss,” but as a source of help.

A manager is a source of help and a catalyst, not a limiter or controller.

Godin touches on this well in his recent post “Moving Beyond Teachers and Bosses“:

We train kids to deal with teachers in a certain way: Find out what they want, and do that, just barely, because there are other things to work on. Figure out how to say back exactly what they want to hear, with the least amount of effort, and you are a ‘good student.’

We train employees to deal with bosses in a certain way: Find out what they want, and do that, just barely, because there are other things to do. Figure out how to do exactly what they want, with the least amount of effort, and the last risk of failure and you are a ‘good worker.’

The attitude of minimize is a matter of self-preservation. Raise the bar, the thinking goes, and the boss will work you harder and harder. Take initiative and you might fail, leading to a reprimand or termination (think about that word for a second… pretty frightening).

The linchpin, of course, can’t abide the attitude of minimize. It leaves no room for real growth and certainly doesn’t permit an individual to become irreplaceable.

If your boss is seen as a librarian, she becomes a resource, not a limit. If you view the people you work with as coaches, and your job as a platform, it can transform what you do each day, starting right now. “My boss won’t let me,” doesn’t deserve to be in your vocabulary. Instead, it can become, “I don’t want to do that because it’s not worth the time/resources.” (Or better, it can become, “go!”)

The opportunity of our age is to get out of this boss as teacher as taskmaster as limiter mindset. We need more from you than that.