Management
I was reading a blog on Jack’s site and it got me thinking about project management and management in general. Jack was ranting (his word, not mine) about choosing the right tool for the job. I agreed with him for the most part. But another issue that I feel is just as important is keeping people motivated. Unless you have a horde of slaves working for you, you must always “bring” people along to where you want them. “Because I said so” barely works for my five-year-old (but it is sometimes necessary). However, when working with adults it is much more effective to encourage people to see your point of view. Those of you who have worked with me in the past, please contain your guffaws. I like to think I have mellowed a lot over the years.
To me the key to doing this is to listen to other people’s ideas. In order to do that effectively, you have to entertain the notion that you may actually be wrong and that they may actually be right! Which is very hard for those of us who are right all the time ;-). But sometimes you have to fight for what is right and that is part of being a good manager: knowing when give in and knowing when to compromise. I have erred both ways, but that’s what experience is all about I guess. Ultimately, someone has to be in charge and take the bullet when things go wrong.
As I write this, I realize that many of these thoughts are obvious, age-old arguments, i.e. power vs. responsibility. But this is why nepotism is so egregious. It provides the opportunity for people to be in power with very limited responsibility. Oh, eventually incompetence will root itself out, but it can take a long time and cause a lot of damage along the way.