I went ahead and skimmed more of the New Management Network’s materials. The following is from “PTOLEMAIC PARADIGM: Motivation, Negotiation, Power and Communication” by Terrence Heath. The Ptolemaic-Copernican example is useful, I think, in our trying to look at the present situation in management theory. For we are in a very advanced stage of the paradigm, perhaps even witnessing its …
“The Pitfalls of Strategic Planning” by Mintzberg
Mintzberg, Henry (1993). “The Pitfalls of Strategic Planning”. California Management Review, Fall 1993:32-47. In this ten-year old article, Mintzberg summarizes the points he makes at length within The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning. Much of the material that you get out of the longer book can be gained by simply reading this article closely. The book’s still worth reading. …
“Getting Work Done at the Right Level”
“Getting Work Done at the Right Level: Why Hierarchy is Important” by Ken Shepard and Don Fowke. An introductory discussion of levels of organization. I’ve always wondered what Ken Shepard looks like.
Bicameral Mind and Jaques
Is there any way that Jaques’s ideas about creativity fit with the idea of the bicameral mind (right brain, left brain)? Reading Mintzberg got me wondering. As I understand Jaques and Cason’s theory (which I haven’t read because I haven’t gotten the book yet), creativity is having too much CIP for the task. But I don’t see this as quite …
What If You Were CEO? A Thought Experiment
A friend asked this question: “Well, if you were CEO, how would you do it?” Good question. This is a random thought experiment using the companies that I have experience with, mostly large multi-billion dollar companies, some based in the States and some in Europe, ranging from 15,000 (for a subdiary) to 100,000 employees, although the sites I was at …
Mintzberg Quoting Mozart on Composing
For whatever reason, there’s something about the “Aha!” nature of genius that resists deconstruction. Or reduction. Or even reducing to a broth. One of the problems with many of the current KM theories and practices is that they basically ignore this. It’s as if knowledge and knowing were somehow the big secret. The big secret is guessing and doing. Then …
Power is Tragicomedy
From Mintzberg’s Power In and Around Organizations, page xvii: In our society, power in and around organizations is a kind of tragicomedy; we would like to laugh, and sometimes do, but there is also much to cry about.
Another Duh! From McKinsey
An interesting article from McKinsey Quarterly that proves that no one has a clue about how to manage any longer: New from The McKinsey Quarterly:Strategy“Balancing short- and long-term performance”The benefits are many for corporations that can walk this tightrope.(Premium Membership required)http://www.mckinseyquarterly.com/links/15927
The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning… and project planning, too
Mintzberg makes some scathing remarks about the Strategic Planning industry. A lot of it seems to come down that the planners are (A) taking the power away from managers and (B) it doesn’t work in practice. I’m wondering if a similar argument can’t be made about software project management.
Consultancy Rates Going Up?
Top Consultant reports that management consultancy salaries have increased and fee rates are firmer now than they have been for 3 years, and there is a bit more money to spend on salaries. All firms reported a shortage of good candidates, and those that gave October salary reviews awarded increases of around 5%, reflecting the need to attract new staff …