The responsibility for administering a business originates, unsurprisingly, in owners. They are the only group naturally possessed of the requirement to make decisions regarding the direction and management of the organization. They can delegate their authority to other groups, but not their responsibility. Except in circumstances wherein they become one or another sort of silent, or absentee, owner. . .
Responsibility is a surprisingly slippery subject in the world of modern organizations. We talk about it easily and with assurance. But it turns out that we can often find ourselves talking past each other about quite different uses of the term. Let’s take a quick look at one way this works. . .
One of the remarkable things about executives is how they define what is important. It generally turns out to be whatever they happen to be doing. That, in turn, usually is what they want to do. They’ll often deny that, of course. . .
A popular idea in business over recent decades is that employees should be given “ownership” of the decisions they are charged with carrying out. It is believed that this will better distribute the actual intent of the decision throughout the organization, and enhance the energy and efficiency of its execution. There certainly is nothing wrong with developing those latter characteristics. But as with so many decent ideas . . .
A common practice in a military campaign is to hold some forces in reserve. The very wise rule of thumb is that they are to be used to reinforce success – to exploit a breakthrough or provide the decisive momentum at a point where your side is on the verge of victory. Unfortunately, the instinct is to send them where your lines appear about to collapse. As natural as that would appear . . .
Have you ever looked up from your desk and realized that you are, simply, stuck? You just don’t know what to do, how to proceed – even where to go? If you have tremendous challenges, you don’t seem to have resources to meet them. Worse, if you are overflowing with resources, you can’t think of a sensible way to deploy them. Perhaps the most frustrating way this happens is the most common one. . .
Or:
Jim Stroup's Business card:
Come visit the Managing Leadership
Managing Leadership® is a registered trademark of the author
Bad Behavior has blocked 257 access attempts in the last 7 days.
