Principles of Talentism: Part 8 - Markets, not Managers

(Queue inspiring music...)

(Loud booming announcer voice) Are you stuck in a job you don't like? Tired of waking up each day and wondering just how many days until the weekend? Is the most important decision of your day "Toupee or comb-over"? Then boy do we have a product for you!

Did you know that in the modern corporate structure there are people whose job is simply to determine how bad you are? So powerful are these people, so omniscient, that they can predict the future and determine your destiny all in one well crafted business sentence.

These super-beings are called The Manager (TM). You wouldn't know them just walking down the street; they don't wear pinstripe capes, and they don't wear a big Brooks Brothers "M" on their chest. They mostly assume the quiet repose of a Clark Kent, pushing up their glasses with their middle finger and making silly jokes to be "one of the gang." In fact, you would have little indication of their super powers… until you need a decision made! Suddenly, faster than a speeding memo, the glasses come off, the voice drops an octave and you here "Sounds too risky... let's hold off on that."

And then you realize that the super-human powers that The Manager (TM) has lay not in their ability to bend policies with their bare hands, or to leap tall infrastructures in a single bound... no, The Manager (TM) has the power to speak for others! Yes, this is what The Manager (TM) does - they tell you whether other people will like you and your ideas.

In this way The Manager (TM) is like that famous super-villain from economics lore: Stanlist-man  (TM). The fact that The Manager (TM) would spend their life's last blood defeating Stalinist-man on the battlefield but then trumpet the evil villain's powers of central planning and thought control in the office is one of the great ironies of modern day business. Isn't that horrible? (Crowd shot: everyone nodding their head..)

"But wait!" I hear you cry. "We can't have people running off willy-nilly, spending money without some controls! There has to be someone who saves us from human sloth, avarice and treachery! The Manager (TM) is just the super-hero we need in these dark and dangerous times!"

(Spoken quickly and quietly) Well, putting aside for the moment that most people want to do a good job and add value and only resort to sloth, avarice and villainy when the system tacitly rewards such behavior let me say just say (back to loud booming announcer voice) "You're right!" And I am here to tell you about this ingenious system that has been developed to both inspire employees to do the right thing and control costs and inefficient behaviors better than The Manager (TM) ever could. It slices, it dices and it never gets dull! What is this marvel of modern day business? We call it The Market (TM).

That's right ladies and gentlemen; you can actually install your own internal The Market (TM) with no money down and no payments. "The Market" will tell you whether your ideas are stupid, but better yet, The Market (TM) pays you when your ideas are good!

"How does it work Jeff?" Glad you asked! Using The Market (TM) you turn  The Manager into a board of directors, treat your “clients” like “customers”, and then “sell” your product or service to them for a profit! That's right... if you do a good job and you get customers and price your service effectively you can actually make a profit! Then you can invest those profits into expanding your service offerings and level of customer service, so that you get even more money! More money, more money, more money!

"Gee Jeff; why doesn’t everyone use The Market (TM)?" That’s a great question! People want to do good work and earn money based on what they produce, but the modern corporation is so obsessed with managing risk that they call in The Manager (TM) to ensure that you don’t do anything wrong. But here's the catch: The Manager doesn’t have to buy what you are selling.!They just tell you what other people will or won’t buy from you. Sometimes that works, but sometimes The Manager becomes more focused on their career than on “The Customer”, and then you have a serious problem: The Manager starts using regulation and political power to mandate what, when and how "The Clients" will get from you. You don't know whether your product is any good because your customer has to use it. That's right: when you are in HR or finance or legal or any other corporate function, people have to use your service! And that means two things:

• Your clients hate you, just like they hated having to eat their peas as a kid.
• You resent that your customers hate you, so you hate them. So there!

But wait, there's more! Not only does everybody hate each other, but nobody trusts each other either. The first mistake you make is chalked up to bureaucratic ineptitude. Then you see that you are getting "the cold-shoulder", so you figure "screw 'em!" I mean, why work hard for a client that doesn't appreciate you? So you throw "SH*T" (TM) their way, which reinforces "The Client's" perception that you "Don't get it" and "Are stupid!" which means you just have more reasons to think that "They are unreasonable" and "Just don't understand."

The Market (TM) solves these problems for you. Here's how: when you offer a product that people want to buy, then they like you for selling them the product. Then you feel good about yourself and want to do an even better job. But even if the customer "Pisses you off" you can deal with it, because they are paying you for the privilege of being a "total bastard" (TM).

Let's look at an example. Say that you re running an "HRIT Department." You say things like "I serve the client" but we all know that you really serve your boss. Your boss decides whether you have a job or not, not the client, so if you can make your boss look good you can actually "ignore" the client. But shining your nose in the boss's backyard takes time. Think, think, think! Where to find the time? Then you realize: you’re a corporate function! You can make people do things whether they want to or not! You can tell "The Client" which systems to use and when and how and when they ask "Why?" you can mumble under your breath "Bite me" and when they say "What?" you can say "I said it's all about the bytes" and smile. Cool, huh?

But wait... Happily you go, skipping along, laughing at all the bosses jokes, when trouble starts. That’s when all the hating and lack of trust starts. Now you have teams focused on screwing each other rather than doing the best job they can for the business. But what do you care? When a client complains you tell them "Hey, I don't make the rules, I just enforce them!" And then when they go to your boss and complain A LOT you do what they want, because now The Manager (TM) is being bothered, and that's bad for you.

The Market (TM) aleviates the trouble of having to laugh at your bosses jokes, or even picking up his dry cleaning and walking his dog. You don't have to worry about any of this. How? The Market (TM) works with these easy-to-learn steps:

1. You start by understanding the customer's need. Not the bosses needs! The customers!
2. Then you develop "The Business Plan" which includes just how you are going to serve the customer, how much it is going to cost (the business's investment), and when you expect to provide return to the investors.
3. You work with your boss to set financial targets that make investing attractive as well as specifying the policy constraints of your new businesses operation.
4. That's all the input you ask from your boss because your boss isn't part of "Your Market." You have already set your financial targets and policy constraints with them as part of your "Business Plan" (TM), so “The Manager” (TM) only gets monthly updates about progress against goals (just like all boards).
5. The "Business" gives you investment, with the understanding that within a set period of time you will return that money, with something for the trouble.
6. You go pitch your new (old) customers your service and get them to "buy." You measure their satisfaction by whether they buy and recommend, not by whether they tell you they like you!

The Market (TM) means that most of the stuff that people hate about HR and corporate functions go away. Take your review for instance. Hate that sinking feeling you get every year when your review comes around because you don't know whether The Manager (TM) remembers all the good stuff you did or will just focus on the fact that you backed into his new Porsche last week? Well, worry no more my friend. Because with The Market (TM)  your review now consists of these easy steps:

• Did you meet your financial targets?
• Did you break any of the policy constraints to meet your goals?
• Do you have a reasonable plan to meet next year's targets?
• (If you want, you can include Customer Heat Reports for a basic satisfaction index)

That's it. Really, what else matters? Assuming that customers have multiple external vendors (your competition) to chose from, "The Customer" will select the best service that meets their need. If you cost too much or don't deliver good service your customers chose and outside vendor. Whether you are "strategic" or not becomes secondary to the value of your service relative to its cost. And trying to convince your clients that you really are strategic becomes a thing of the past:  if you price your service at a premium price point and they buy, then you are probably strategic. So stop worrying!

So try The Market (TM) today. Complete money-back guarantee! (Your mileage may vary.)

(Fade out inspiring music)