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The Irresistible Force and the Immovable Object

15 March, 2017 by James Lawther Leave a Comment

A middle manager’s view of change

As managers get older their chances of promotion shrink.  There are fewer senior jobs than junior jobs.  The sad truth is that if you haven’t “made it” by the time you are 40, you probably never will. There is little upside to being a middle-aged middle manager.

But most middle-aged managers have plenty of downside. They have mortgages to pay and children to feed. There is no such thing as a job for life and there are plenty of bright young things who will gladly take theirs. The next reorganisation is always around the corner.

There is no such thing as “risk free change”, so the golden rule for most managers is “Cover Your Arse”.

Risk aversion is alive and well in the middle of your organisation.

A senior manager’s view of change

As organisations mature, their markets and competitors change.  The chances of maintaining a market lead or unique product diminish over time.  The only way to maintain a strong position is to launch new products, enter new markets, improve your processes, and transform your infrastructure…  Have you heard the story about Blockbuster and Netflix?

There is no such thing as “risk-free stability”, so the golden rule for most senior managers is “Move your Arse”.

Manager versus manager?

Of course, the middle managers are kidding themselves.  If their organisation doesn’t change, then sooner or later, the competition will come along and eat their lunch.  The competition will, of course, enjoy the executive lunch as well.

So if you have made it to the top and the core competence of your management team is risk aversion, then you had better start making your core competence risk removal.  Or let civil war consume your business.

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Image by Sallie Warren

Filed Under: Blog, Employee Engagement Tagged With: blame, empowerment, management style

About the Author

James Lawther
James Lawther

James Lawther is a middle-aged, middle manager.

To reach this highly elevated position he has worked in numerous industries, from supermarket retailing to tax collecting.  He has had several operational roles, including running the night shift in a frozen pea packing factory and carrying out operational research for a credit card company.

As you can see from his C.V. he has either a wealth of experience or is incapable of holding down a job.  If the latter is true this post isn’t worth a minute of your attention.

Unfortunately, the only way to find out is to read it and decide for yourself.

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