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Management: ideas and frameworks explained

A collection of ideas, frameworks and techniques related to Management, explained clearly so they are easy to understand and share.

Explanation of SMART goals meaning, showing that SMART stands for Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant and Time-bound, and how setting SMART goals leads to clearer progressSMART GoalsChart showing the chances of getting what you want if you ask for what you want vs if you don'tAsking for What You WantWhat is the Eat The Frog time management and productivity technique and its meaning with a person about to eat a frog and a to-do listEat the frogLeading from any chair, the fifth practice from The Art of Possibility by Benjamin and Rosamund Zander. From Eugene Lehner's story: What would I say should I suddenly be called upon to lead?Leading from Any ChairNormalisation of deviance: A person looks dubiously on at a building site which seems to be ignoring all the safety signs. (Normalization of deviance)The Normalisation of DevianceWhose job is it? or The Responsibility Poem illustration: four people named Everybody, Somebody, Anybody and Nobody. Everybody is given a job but in the end Nobody takes responsibility for itWhose job is it?VUCA illustration: Examples of Volatility (a stock-like chart), Complexity (a circuit-like confusion), Uncertainty (a direction splitting into 3) and a person sweating over Ambiguity (a Necker cube).VUCAThree types of "no" illustrated animation with parenting examples. The Yes No (no to ice cream, yes to eating). The Material No (Yes I'd get it down if I had a ladder). The Priority No (Yes we can take the bear but we'll leave to have one of the others)Three Types of "No"The bus factor summary - A poor soul squashed by a bus lamented because they were the only one who knew the passwordBus factorWhat is Groupthink: People acquiescing to the manager's and what they see as others' views during a meetingGroupthinkWhat Clear is Kind means example with someone explaining clear is kind and not being clear along the wayClear is kindA sketch of extrinsic motivation with a donkey being followed by a man with a stick and in turn following a carrot that's strapped always just out of reachExtrinsic motivationA meeting with some in-person participants and one remote participant showing the disadvantages of eachHybrid meetingsThe janitor and the CEO story inspired by Steve Jobs illustrating how reasons stop mattering somewhere between the janitor and the CEOReasons stop matteringPush Authority to Information principle from David Marquet example explained: on the left in a position of authority, a boss waits expectantly to hear the latest updates from their team in order to make a decision. On the right, a leader distributes their authority out to team members who become empowered to make decisions themselves based on the information they have. Everyone seems happier on the right. Push authority to informationUmbrella and Funnel management style example explained: Todd Jackson's shit umbrella or shit funnel metaphor shown with on the left, the effective manager uses an umbrella to shield their team from a downpour of tasks and requests coming from all directions. This sheltered team are focussed and productive and celebrate their achievements. On the right, in place of the umbrella, the less effective manager uses a funnel as a catch-all, showering their team with actions, sending the team members running scared. Umbrellas and funnelsLooking under the lamppost, the streetlight effect, or the drunkard's search: a person asks someone scrabbling on the floor under a lamppost at night if they've lost their keys. The person replies they lost them elsewhere, but the light's much better here.Looking under the lamppost: the Streetlight Effect or the Drunkard's SearchWhat is Manager Time Maker Time example explained: Paul Graham's manager schedule maker schedule illustrated with Manager Time, on the left shows someone in their office at their laptop, scheduling in meetings and calls throughout the day, neatly managing time with hourly and half-hourly slots in their calendar. On the right, Maker Time ideally does away with any scheduled meetings or calls to allow for an open day for our worker at their desk to grind through a complex problem or new project. The passing of time is only marked by day turning to night. Manager time, maker timeRACI framework illustration: A family making a sandcastle highlights who is Responsible, Accountable, Consulted and InformedRACIThe transparency paradox: In an open classroom one student secretly passes a note to the other illustrating the transparency paradoxThe transparency paradoxWhat is the Peter Principle explanation: a confident and competent junior worker gets promoted to a senior level. At the senior level, they appear very happy and excel such that they get a promotion to Director. As a Director, their competence has been exceeded and we see them in a state of stress and disarray. Oh dear. The Peter PrincipleWhat is The Shirky principle explained — from Clay Shirky — illustration in a garage where a manager is astonished by a mechanic fixing the cars so they'll never need to come backThe Shirky PrincipleWhat is the accountability ladder example explained: A child explains to a parent why homework wasn't done, illustrating each rung of increasing accountability on the accountability ladder from a victim mindset to a powerful accountable oneThe accountability ladderWhat is the trust battery example explained with a manager considering 2 employees based on their past interactionsThe trust battery: A handy metaphor to think about trustThe Abilene paradox: a family sets out on a trip to Abilene on a hot dusty day only to discover on the way back that none of them actually wanted to goThe Abilene paradoxAutonomy Mastery Purpose summary of Dan Pink's book DriveWhat drives us: autonomy, mastery, purposeConway's law showing how the organisation of a company, as small, distributed teams or large colocated teams can reflect the architecture of the software as modular or monolithicConway’s LawBugs and releases illustration: an upward curve line graph shows the increase in risk for bugs or problems with software as the size of release increases. Instead of one large release, a series of smaller software updates each with smaller, more manageable risk is suggested. Bugs and releasesWhat is MOSCOW Prioritisation with example: Must, Should, Could, WouldMOSCOW PrioritisationMatch challenge with skills illustration: a chart of skills and challenge shows flow in the center and anxiety and boredom at the edgesMatch challenge with skills for flow at workAn office worker glumly thinks about their lack of window while a frustrated manager looks on which is transformed when the employee asks for a windowAsk for what you needWhat is Hofstadter's Law quote explanation: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you account for Hofstadter’s Law.”Hofstadter’s LawConnect with a colleague through affinities

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