[.. Subject line changed back by your jost. John had "Game Playing and
Performance"...]
Bill Starbuck comments:
>Look at the figures in Henry Mintzberg's "The Nature of Managerial Work."
>You might also be interested in Fred Luthan's Real Managers study:
>managers who do more networking get promoted faster.
I can't help but comment on the idea that managers who network more get
promoted faster. We might read that "managers who are good politicians,
who know how to play the political games, get promoted faster." My sense
is that is true in many organizations, which is a clear indication of what
is most important in appraising talent. Such behaviors are often more
"talk the talk" than "walk the talk." The message to all in such
organizations is that rewards await those who know how to play the game.
Performance, that is adding value in the best sense of that idea, is of
secondary (tertiary?) importance. It seems to me that the philosophy of
Deming and most of those on this list is about helping us get past
thinking game playing is more important than real performance. I, for
one, know that that idea will be common knowledge some day. But it's
going to take a while.
-- John Woods jwoods@execpc.com