----- continued from MBAs and behavior, Part 1 ---------
>>... The capability is not MBA (as we know
it) but is MBManager/Leader. Each MBM/L has
five "apprentices" and each of them have five
work group supervisors...<<
I hate to ask, but where are we going to find all these Manager/Leaders?
I heard that one well-known consultant has stopped working directly with
his company's clients because he says that only about 2% to 3% of the
companies have Manager/Leaders capable of implementing the changes that
need to be made. I would have thought more like 15%, but I yield to him
and his many years of experience.
With 70,000+ MBA graduates a year, the untold number of consultants and
an endless supply of books of the subject, I wonder why there are still
so few effective managers and leaders? My answer is that effective
management and leadership is closely related to having the appropriate
personality along with the necessary mental ability and, of course, the
interest to use both in a managerial position and/or leadership position.
That is why it is a stubborn problem--there are not enough people with
these traits to fill the demand, and worse, many ineffective managers
reject or will not promote subordinates who exhibit the leadership
skills that the managers do not possess.
>>... That means an average of 17 worker
bees per work group. Not bad...<<
I think you underestimate the need for the knowledge that B-School graduates
possess. The problem is not the B-school graduates but rather
the people who hire the B-School graduates. Employers expect B-School
graduates to solve the employers' problems when in fact the employers'
problems are caused by the employers' managers.
>>... Also, there are over 10 million businesses...<<
I used that before as a round number but was told that may be high.
Ten million works better for my argument.
>>... but I think less than half of them
need MBM/L talent on their staff...<<
I think that is precisely the reason why so many businesses are
in trouble, they don't have MBM/L talent on staff.
Every employer needs at least one effective leader and many more
effective managers, but, if the consultant I mentioned above is correct,
there are only 2,400,000 to 3,600,000 (2% to 3% of the work force)
leaders available. I guess one good leader could be shared by 3 to 4 companies.
>>... Common sense will serve them adequately...<<
Not quite. Common sense is applying your knowledge and experience to
the task at hand. If a manager is short on experience or lacks
knowledge his common sense may well be disastrous. Too many people
in business think common sense is a substitute for knowledge--it isn't.
>>... We don't need "teach" we need "lead"
It seems to me that you are one of
these -- or at least a carrier...<<
Thank you very much. I little personal history follows.
[ My former boss told me I could motivate the entire company
single handed, but when I asked him to harness my leadership
abilities for the good of the company he had not the slightest
idea how to do it. The problem was that the company would not
allow anyone but another member of the board of directors to
be in a leadership position.
In 1990 the company, 230 employees, was losing $50,000 per month and
about to go under--the bank was close to calling in our line of
credit--the comptroller came to me in tears and begged me to do something
even though I was not director. I was at the level from which directors
were selected. Needless to say tried and earned an Executive MBA along the
way while trying to help the company change for the good.
Like many companies it hired a consultant to help them stop the red ink. The
company laid off people by the month, then every other week then weekly then
twice weekly until they stopped spending more than they were taking in. Of
course, they drove an already low morale into the sewer so to speak. Yes, the
company survived it has not changed much. Changes I had lobbied for in the
mid-1980's were implemented in the mid-1990's. Progress is so slow that
employees who have and recognize their own leadership abilities leave for
more rewarding positions. Looking back I realize that the company probably lost
their best employees before the employees reached their 30th birthday. ]
Bob
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| Robert F. Gately, PE, MBA |
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