Rules Of Management

RULE 62 - Adopt minimalism as a management style

“Seek honest, minimalist management. Look for companies run by a team that explains things clearly and briefly. I’ll admit, judging management honesty isn’t always so simple. It’s not as if the crooks out there come with black masks, striped jump-suits, and carry sacks with dollar signs on them. But you can tell a lot about the firm by reading an annual report or two, readily available. If management can’t explain the business in plain English, move on to another firm. If you see phrases like ‘creating knowledge-based value in emerging markets’… someone is trying to pull the wool over your eyes, you lazy Fool. Run.”

Seth Jayson, “Stocks for the Lazy Investor’,
The Motley Fool, ww.fool.com

Minimalism means not issuing lengthy reports. It means not issuing memos every 20 minutes. It means keeping rules to the minimum* and letting people get on with their jobs. It means mission statements that make sense, are clear and easy to understand and are simple. It means management where managers us professionals and let them get on with their tasks in peaces and quiet. It means managers who are secure in themselves and don’t need to score points, bully or interfere. Minimalist management is all about getting more by doing less. Yes, sure you have to be the boss, but it’s more like steering a big ship – the tiniest touch of the wheel is enough. You swing that wheel violently from side to side and you’re off course in an instant.

There is an old Chinese saying: ‘Govern a country the same way you cook small fish’, i.e. don’t keep fiddling with them or they fall apart. Manage a department, team or company in pretty much the same way – gently, discreetly, unobtrusively. Better to be understated than too obvious.

“Minimalist management is all about getting more by doing less.

posted by Right Ranger @ 8:47 PM