The Plan

[jazz4cash]

In the last week, I've heard from two former colleagues asking for help causing me to look through archived files and I stumbled upon this bit of sarcastic wisdom.........

In the beginning, there was the Plan.

And then came the Assumptions.

And the Assumptions were without form.

And the Plan was without substance.

And darkness was upon the face of the Workers.

And they spoke among themselves, saying, "It is a crock of sh**, and it
stinks."

And the Workers went unto their Supervisors and said, "It is a pail of
dung, and we can't live with the smell".

And the Supervisors went unto their Managers, saying, "It is a container of excrement, and it is very strong, such that none may abide by it."

And the Managers went unto their Directors, saying, "It is a vessel of
fertilizer, and none may abide its strength."

And the Directors spoke among themselves, Saying to one another, "It
contains that which aids plant growth, and it is very strong."

And the Directors went to the Vice Presidents, saying unto them, "It
promotes growth, and it is very powerful."

And the Vice Presidents went to the President, saying unto him, "This new plan will actively promote the growth and vigor of the company with very powerful effects."

And the President looked upon the Plan and saw that it was good.

And the Plan became Policy.

 

[Morgan22]

Hmmm..... Sounds like my megacorp.

 

[RobbieB]

If the "plan" is making dough, then it is good.

If the "plan" is paying dividends I'll buy it.

If the workers don't like to shovel dung they can find a new job.

 

[Milton]

If the "plan" is making dough, then it is good.

If the "plan" is paying dividends I'll buy it.

If the workers don't like to shovel dung they can find a new job.

Tough talk, indeed!

A management approach of "If you don't like the way we do things, there's the door" typically results in compliance but erodes commitment. While I'm no bleeding heart, I would rather have my money in a business where most of the employees (there will always be a few malcontents) feel valued and engaged.

Any fool of a CEO can temporarily improve the bottom line by cutting salaries and benefits, slashing R&D, laying off workers and demanding more from the 'survivors'. But such measures are unlikely to result in increased profits over the medium and long terms.

 

[Mdlerth]

Tough talk, indeed!

A management approach of "If you don't like the way we do things, there's the door" typically results in compliance but erodes commitment. While I'm no bleeding heart, I would rather have my money in a business where most of the employees (there will always be a few malcontents) feel valued and engaged.

Any fool of a CEO can temporarily improve the bottom line by cutting salaries and benefits, slashing R&D, laying off workers and demanding more from the 'survivors'. But such measures are unlikely to result in increased profits over the medium and long terms.

+1

No bleeding heart here either, but my conclusion from 37 years of watching managers fail upwards is that America cranks out MBAs skilled in harvesting businesses rather than nurturing them. There is only one page in my megacorp's playbook: shoot some horses, eat their grain, and camouflage the mess with a new set of buzzwords.

I won't miss it at all when I FIRE in TMY.

 

[CaptTom]

...America cranks out MBAs skilled in harvesting businesses rather than nurturing them...

That's a phrase I'm going to blatantly plagiarize.

Good answer!

 

[Clone]

Saw an upper manager one time declare that "If you think there is a better job out there, you should take it!" A number of high performers left. The underlings used to work a lot of unpaid overtime. That took a serious correction. When the business picked up again, if the company wanted the hours- they had to pay for it! "Business is business, nothing personal!" There was a lot of discussion about salaried union, but that never went anywhere.

The VP sorta disappeared in the middle of the night, never to be seen again. It took many years for management to achieve any level of respect from the worker bees. The real shift in organizational climate came when the legacy managers finally retired, and the underlings who had been 'used' started to assume the middle management roles. It changed from the tyrants in charge to your cohorts in charge.

I have heard that there are some good MBAs out there.

 

[Milton]

'My way or the highway' is poor management

I would rather have my money in a business where most of the employees (there will always be a few malcontents) feel valued and engaged.

See further The Link Between Employee Satisfaction and Long-term Value.

 

[CaptTom]

See further The Link Between Employee Satisfaction and Long-term Value.

Interesting article. The last line was thought-provoking: "The problem of short-termism is systemic – managers will only think long-term when the directors and investors who evaluate them do so also."

 

[Koolau]

Over my 36 year c*areer, I saw Megacorp go from a "family" to just another business. I bailed before the worst of the mayhem and chaos virtually destroyed w*rker buy-in. I've had to experience some of the fall-out as long-promised retiree benefits are slowly eroded. All in all, I can't complain, but I feel sorry for those who inherited positions I was once proud to fill. It's truly sad. YMMV