Management fads come and go, even in our printing and bindery businesses. Six Sigma. Sensitivity Training. Management by Objective. Core Competency. Management by Consensus. 'Fun' is one of the current fads. Twitter, which prides itself on wackiness, has a team of people whose job is to make people happy. Seriously.
Fads are not without value since they do indeed provide useful business practices to many companies. It's been estimated 80% of Fortune 500 companies used Management by Objective (MBO) in the early 90's. Today, few will admit to using MBO even though MBO in very basic terms is the act of setting goals and mapping a plan to reach them.
How is it that so many management techniques, created by so many brilliant people, ultimately fail, then pass into Fad History? After all, if a fad was successful, it wouldn’t be a fad.
It starts with the promise of a cure-all. Take this Magic Pill and it will cure everything that ails your business. It's fast, painless, and will totally transform you and/or your business. It's our nature to prefer the cure over the prevention.
The failure comes when they don't deliver on the full, often implied, promise of being a Magic Pill. "Son of a gun, this is really hard work, my co-workers are resisting, customers, vendors, employees, bosses are upset..." So the charm of the Magic Pill vaporizes in the face of hard work and difficult change. We’ll pick and choose what works, leave the rest, and move on to something else. If you've been in or around business long enough, you learn there simply is no Magic Pill. As Warren Buffett says, “In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.”
There is however, one thing in business that you can always work on, whatever the latest fad: yourself. It doesn't matter if you are the printing company owner or a new hire loading a folding machine. Neither corporate culture nor your circumstances matter. Personal development pays dividends forever in proportion to the work you put into it. It's totally in your control. It makes your work life and personal life better. And it doesn't need to cost you anything; libraries are chock full of the wisdom of the ages.
Here are 5 tips—simple habits really—which are guaranteed to improve you and your business relationships and which will withstand the onslaught of any fad.
- Compete with yourself, not with your co-workers. Set your own personal standards and see if you can meet or exceed them.
- Place a high value on your contribution. You are an expert in what you do. After all, you spend thousands of hours every year doing your particular job and like it or not, this bestows a certain expertise. Be open for suggestions from others, but remember that you play a valuable role.
- Do your part in a timely manner. Try your best to get your work done so no one has to wait for it.
- Be polite. "Please" and "Thank you" are not just old-hat expressions. Grease the wheels of cooperation with courtesy and consideration.
- Don't take people for granted. Your colleagues intend to do their part, but remember that without them, the job wouldn't get done. Place as high a value on the contributions of others as you do on your own.
The extra effort you put into building a better "you" results in better relationships with colleagues. Good deeds come back like "bread upon the water."
So if your Production Manager is strangling your Chief Fun Officer with his Six Sigma belt, ignore the fuss. You've got work to do. And if you have a good fad story or a good personal development tip; please feel free to share below!
Printing Business Fads – 5 Tips for Survival
By Andre Palko
Management fads come and go, even in the printing and bindery businesses. Six Sigma. Sensitivity Training. Management by Objective. Core Competency. Management by Consensus. 'Fun' is one of the current fads. Twitter, which prides itself on wackiness, has a team of people whose job is to make people happy. Seriously.
Fads are not without value since they do indeed provide useful business practices to many companies. It's been estimated 80% of Fortune 500 companies used Management by Objective (MBO) in the early 90's. Today, few will admit to using MBO even though MBO in very basic terms is the act of setting goals and mapping a plan to reach them.
How is it that so many management techniques, created by so many brilliant people, ultimately fail and pass into Fad History? After all, if a fad was successful, it wouldn’t be a fad.
It starts with the promise of a cure-all. Take this Magic Pill and it will cure everything that ails your business. It's fast, painless, and will totally transform you and/or your business.
The failure comes when they don't deliver on the full, often implied, promise of being a Magic Pill. "Son of a gun, this is really hard work, my co-workers are resisting, customers, vendors, employees, bosses are upset..." So the charm of the Magic Pill vaporizes in the face of hard work and difficult change. We’ll pick and choose what works, leave the rest, and move on to something else. If you've been in or around business long enough, you learn there simply is no Magic Pill. As Warren Buffett says, “In the business world, the rearview mirror is always clearer than the windshield.”
There is however, one thing in business that you can always work on, whatever the latest fad: yourself. It doesn't matter if you are the printing company owner or a new hire loading a folding machine. Neither corporate culture nor your circumstances matter. Personal development pays dividends forever in proportion to the work you put into it. It's totally in your control. It makes your work life and personal life better. And it doesn't need to cost you anything; libraries are chock full of the wisdom of the ages.
Here are 5 tips—simple habits really—which are guaranteed to improve you and your business relationships and which will withstand the onslaught of any fad.
Compete with yourself, not with your co-workers. Set your own personal standards and see if you can meet or exceed them.
Place a high value on your contribution. You are an expert in what you do. After all, you spend thousands of hours every year doing your particular job and like it or not, this bestows a certain expertise. Be open for suggestions from others, but remember that you play a valuable role.
Do your part in a timely manner. Try your best to get your work done so no one has to wait for it.
Be polite. "Please" and "Thank you" are not just old-hat expressions. Grease the wheels of cooperation with courtesy and consideration.
Don't take people for granted. Your colleagues intend to do their part, but remember that without them, the job wouldn't get done. Place as high a value on the contributions of others as you do on your own.
The extra effort you put into building a better you results in better relationships with colleagues. Good deeds come back like "bread upon the water."
So if your Production Manager is strangling your Chief Fun Officer with his Six Sigma belt, ignore the fuss. You've got work to do.