Organization, the first spoke in the "Wheel of Management"
Management is a multifaceted skill, each facet seemingly standing on
it's own, and yet all so interdependent. This is rather like
a wagon wheels. Without all the spokes in place, the
wheel would probably turn but the ride would certainly be
bumpy.
Organization is the first spoke because without question it is the
most basic, and the most abused.
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Organization, the first spoke in the "Wheel of Management".
Management is a multifaceted skill, each facet seemingly standing on
it's own, and yet all so interdependent that alone they are almost
meaningless and only function fully when all are in place. This is
rather like the old fashioned wagon wheels, several spokes
supporting the wheel rim around the hub. Without all the spokes in
place, the wheel would probably turn but the ride would certainly be
bumpy, and the risk of calamitous failure of the wheel
extraordinarily high.
In this series of articles I intend to deal with each of the spokes
of the mythical "Management Wheel", hopefully demonstrating how they
hang together and how important the are to the functioning of the
organization as a whole. I have selected organization as the first
spoke to talk about, not because it is the most important, although
it certainly is important, but because it is without question the
most basic, and the most abused.
Let us review what passes for organization in most small companies.
(Do not be embarrassed if you recognize your company here, you are
not alone.) The owner is convinced he can do it all, and while the
company is small, he can. The three main functions of the business,
get work, do work and get paid are all he is concerned about.
Get work or sales, is what he does when there is not enough real work
for him to do, and he either does it himself, or assigns his most
senior operations guy to help, after all "You got to know all about
the job to sell it!" The 'do work" part needs skills and training,
so over time the owner builds up a group of workers he can trust. He
often will appoint a supervisor for a part of the group, but when he
is around everyone knows who is boss.
Finally, as far as "get paid" is concerned, the boss hates paperwork,
so he gets his spouse, mother, or daughter to do that. "Just call
the CPA, he will set you right". Of course she also handles payroll,
so she gets stuck with dealing with all those nasty discipline
issues the boss hates also. "Can't chew someone out, then ask them
to work Sunday can you?" No job descriptions, no organization chart,
no established lines of communication or authority, If this owner
does make it through the first few years he suddenly realizes that
he is working way to hard, and he is earning less than he pays his
employees.
Compare that with functional organization. The entire organization is
studied to define all the work that is required to be done. All the
tasks thus identified are congregated into "functional' boxes, and
authority levels are defined for each box. Also defined are the
measures of performance that will be applied to each box, and the
most appropriate lines of communication and responsibility are also
defined. Doing this defining achieves a secondary objective, it
creates a "functional description" for each box, commonly referred
to as a job description. The process also creates by default the
most appropriate organization structure which can pictorially be
presented in an organization chart,
Now, and not until now, do we look at our people. Each employee is
matched with the each box, with some picking up more than one, while
some boxes cannot be matched with current employees suggesting new
hires may be required. (Regrettably, the reverse is often also true,
some employees cannot be matched with a suitable box. As difficult
as this may be it helps identify the dead wood in the company.)
As the saying goes, "If you don't tell people what you want them to
do, don't be surprised if they disappoint you." A well conceived and
documented organization with defined authority and appropriate
measurement is the first and most effective step towards creating an
organization where employees are responsible and accountable. It
requires a definite investment in time and effort but the dividends
will be enormous and they will be measured in profit and peace of
mind.
The Author
After 25 years consulting to small and medium sized companies,
Mike Anderson, principal of Train Me To Be a CEO
realized that the most important part of his work was training the CEO,
and the reason he was such a good consultant was that he did that very
well.
Trained as an engineer, he became a CEO of
a midsize corporation at the age of 35. After a spell at Harvard
Business School he entered the world of consulting.
3. Ongoing mentorship. Begins with a minimum two
day one on one, but continues with monthly or quarterly follow up
sessions. (Smart and probably Best!) .
References
A New England Contractor
"Mike Anderson has been working diligently
with the upper management team at (our firm). Mike is extremely
knowledgeable and has an exceptional way of dealing with many different
personalities. He has worked very closely with the Sales Team to
impress upon them the importance of using a consistent method of
estimating. He was instrumental in restructuring our accounting
procedures."
