CIO
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How many senior managers do you know who could run an ice cream store as well as the manager is running it now?
The other day while I was standing in a crowded ice cream store, waiting for the line to move forward so I could get some cooling ice cream because it was above 90 degrees and very humid, a question popped into mind: How many senior managers do I know who could run this ice cream store as well as the manager was running it now? The store was packed but the line was moving, customers seemed to be in good moods, and best of all, the employees behind the counter--not one looking to be over 20--were working as a team.
Certainly, many senior managers could have done the ordering, predicted customer flow and even negotiated good prices with suppliers. But when it got to the real work of dealing with people--teens showing up late for work or not at all, assistant managers not knowing where to turn for supplies or backup employees, or dealing with customers face to face and not via a call center--I’m afraid some folks I know would pull up short.
Management 101
Let’s be honest. Very few senior leaders would want to run such a store, and so my question is moot, save for one important element: the people quotient. While many senior folks are good at dealing with people in an organized system of process and procedure, few of them would be able to flex with the changing nature of a fast moving retail environment where floor traffic ebbs and flows, and employees come and go. Likewise, few I know would be able to build a business, to harness the power of an idea and bring it to fruition in the competitive jungle of getting a new business off the ground. While senior folks may be good system thinkers, they are not systems thinkers. The difference is huge. System thinking means following the rules and regulations, but systems thinkers focus on the holistic enterprise--that is, making decisions and considering consequences that will affect individuals and the organization.
That is sad because no matter what size the business, be it a mom-and-pop operation or a billion-dollar company, its success will rely upon men and women who are critical thinkers, as well as creative and enterprising. Managers can foster such traits by watching how folks in retail hire and
