Top 10 Management Fads Du Jour

I once had a CEO who left a different business book on my desk just about every couple of weeks. Built to Last, The Gorilla Game, I've got a whole bookshelf full of them.

Since I don't read that stuff, I got pretty good at skimming for the key concept so I could regurgitate it back to the guy - he had a huge ego and needed to feel good about himself. True story ... at a Fortune 1000 company, no less.

Anyway, that's probably what soured me on a whole genre of business and management books. I've since come to realize that, in addition to books, with rare exception, there isn't much to be learned from business schools or big management consulting firms, for that matter.

Here's a little Q&A to give you a preview of where we're going on the subject of business and management guruism:

• Q: Do management consultants spend your money learning your business so they can tell you stuff you already know using buzzwords you don't understand? A: Pretty much.
• Q: Do business school academics and management gurus really have a clue how business works in the real world? A: Not really.
• Q: Do former executives really have anything to teach us? A: Yeah, but unless they're part of your network and willing to give you some quality face time, you're not going to learn a damn thing.
• Q: Does it really make sense to extrapolate methods of some successful companies and generalize them for others? A: Probably not.
• Q: Is management a science or an art form? A: Neither. Both. Maybe a combination of psychology and common sense. Actually, I have no idea. Does anyone?

The problem is that, these days, everybody's looking for shortcuts and quick fixes. But you know what? They're not going to find any because, when it comes to business and management, well, there really aren't any.

That's right, there's no magic diet or miracle cure to solve a tough business or management problem. But that hasn't stopped anyone from making gobs of money roping executives and companies in on the latest management fad du jour.

Hey, why don't we give that a nice, snappy name, like Management by Sound Bite? Yeah, I like the sound of that. Anyway, here are my Top 10 Management Fads Du Jour. Some may have been useful once upon a time, like before the new millennium.

1. The boss is always right. All successful executives and leaders know that when people kiss your butt and tell you what you want to hear, the end is near. Smart bosses know when to shut up and listen, know just how much they don't know, and encourage others to challenge the status quo.
2. Outsourcing. Now that we've learned that outsourcing is a slippery slope that starts with a little and ends with China overtaking the U.S. as the world's economic power in five or ten years, it's high time we bring manufacturing back to America.
3. Management by Objective. This example clearly illustrates the problem with MBOs. A manager at a high-tech company actually wrote a set of objectives that included this: Ensure that the break room fridge is well-stocked with beer and wine. Nobody noticed. That's the problem with MBOs. Nobody has time to follow up or even read them.
4. Core competency. A brilliant concept that still has a lot of value but the complexity of modern business means there are just too many exceptions. I mean, what's Microsoft's or Sony's core competency these days? How about Google, which just announced it's buying Motorola Mobility and becoming a cell phone company?
5. The One Minute manager. This was actually a great concept for the 80s and I did benefit from it as a young manager, but these days, business is just a tad bit more fast-paced. Maybe the one nanosecond manager ...
6. Strategic planning. Rarely has such a critical concept been so poorly executed by so many consultants, executives and companies. The phrase is now synonymous with wasting time and money. It's sad and embarrassing. Really. Anyway, if your company needs it - and they all do - better off calling it something else.
7. Good to Great and other research-based models. Fannie Mae, Circuit City, ... come on, you can't be serious. Why didn't Blockbuster, Borders, or Lehman make the list?
8. Change management. I've said it before and I'll say it again. Change Management: It's the Strategy, Stupid. Still, that hasn't stopped McKinsey and other big firms from trying to convince executives that it's all about their process. It's not.
9. Organizational development. I've never met an OD person I could stand. In order to provide a career path for career-limited HR people, OD managed to turn simple concepts like career paths and change management into a nightmare of processes and complexity.
10. Management by walking around. Companies and teams are so geographically dispersed these days, unless you can walk through cyberspace, forget it.

Also check out:

• 5 Business Books That Made a Difference (yup, there are always a few exceptions)
• Why Skeptics Make Great Leaders
• Top 10 Lucrative Careers That Benefit Nobody