[managers] treading a fine line

The most successful small companies in this part of the world are those with strong managers who act with vision and according to sound business practice but are known for their open-door policy and frequent planning meetings. They therefore have to tread a fine line between managerialism and fiasco.

Yet it’s in the interests of any manager worth his salt to listen, digest and to adopt, to initiate discussions and to give weight to what is put forward and this is the hardest task with the hands-on, start-up type of free-wheelers who manage companies over here. Divisional and sub managers can certainly contribute – that’s what they’re paid to do – but would they assume personal liability for any company action? In small companies, one man takes the rap and only has himself to blame, so best practice and the free flow of ideas are in his own best interests.

If staff feel they are appreciated for their input, this is far more important than making decisions by enforced democratic vote. As Alec Issigonis said: ‘A camel is a horse designed by a committee.’ If a staff member can have room to move in his particular specialization and if he can see the result of his input reflected in company policy, then why would he want to be the one with his head directly on the block? Indirectly, he still stands or falls by his decisions and the thing has a tendency to self-actualization.

It’s a fine line. Unfortunately, many get it wrong and the result is dysfunction. Like a car with an engine that can't fire on all cylinders, a business that's dysfunctional may move forward for a while. But eventually it stops running. Companies don't start out maladjusted, of course. It just tends to happen over time.

"The hallmark of a dysfunctional organization is a gap between reality and rhetoric," says Ben Dattner, a New York organizational psychologist. Once diagnosed, the corrosive effects of such problems can be corrected. But make no mistake: It's neither easy nor immediate. Joanna Krotz, of Marketing Intelligence, identifies three signs of dysfunction.

Read on …