“New Mega Trends: Implications for Our Future Lives” by Sarwant Singh (Palgrave Macmillan, $30).
Singh’s takes us from 30,000 feet to Main Street, Wall Street and the factory floor as he explains 10 Mega Trends that will have global impact over the next 10 years. In doing so, he identifies game-changing opportunities for business and personal life.
The one I believe will have the broadest impact on people at home and work is “smart.” Products and systems will have information and communication technology embedded in them. Household management is an example. Think of Wi-Fi on steroids; a Home Area Network (HAN) will control and remotely monitor, via a smartphone app, the interior and exterior environment (e.g. lighting, climate-controlled rooms, home security, air quality, energy consumption, sprinkler, etc.) Those with medical conditions would use the HAN to connect real time with doctors, clinics, hospitals and emergency services.
While bits and pieces of the technology exist today there’s nothing that ties them together. Business can integrate “smart” into its products and bundle such services at affordable prices.
On the business front, the factory of the future will use advanced technology and automation to improve product quality, monitor costs, adjust production and “go green,” too. Tablet computers will replace workstations; workers will communicate with colleagues and industry-specific networks as they move around the facility. Suppliers, wholesalers and retailers will tie-in real time for inventory control and issue management. Smart robots will do the heavy lifting; factory workers will be knowledge workers.
With the growth of smart, green buildings, building management will expand its bounds as a building becomes a large, multi-tenant “dwelling” whose tenants have specific requirements. The connection between tenants, building controls, IT and software will grow. So will the energy-management interaction with utilities.
As the base of the mega trends, “Smart” sets the stage for growth in e-mobility, high-speed transit, global connections, customization and knowledge-based work.
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“AMA Business Boot Camp: Management and Leadership Fundamentals That Will See You Successfully Through Your Career” edited by Edward T. Reilly (AMACOM, $25).
For over 90 years, the American Management Association (AMA) has provided managers with the people tools needed to grow their organizations. Drawing from this cache of knowledge, Reilly, AMA’s CEO and a resident of Westport, created a managers-and-wannabes resource guide focused on key areas of productivity: leadership, directing, contributing, coaching, facilitating, innovating and organizing.
Communication stands out as the common thread tying these areas together. Upward communication of situations and outcomes often occupies much of a manager’s time — at the expense of communicating with staff. That staff has more influence on a manager’s performance than a manager’s boss. The staff engine propels productivity. What gets reported to the next level up remains a function of what’s been done and what needs to be done.
Communication revolves around clarity. But not only clarity of what; the clarity of why cuts through the various perspectives of the receiver. Examples of the difference: “All team members will work overtime until further notice.” This statement, although clear as to what, raises questions among the receivers. Staff time spent trying to figure out why overtime is required wastes productive time. The what-and-why communication says: “The deadline on _____ has been moved up to ____. As a result, we’ll have to work overtime to meet it.” It clearly explains the need.
Clarity also revolves around three components: verbal (the words), vocal (the tone) and visual (body language). Using email and text messages creates complications. Why? The receiver can’t read tone and body language — which often leads to misinterpretation. To minimize miscommunication, the sender must think like the receiver(s). The sender must also think about the complexity of what’s involved. With complicated issues, face-to-face discussions lead to greater clarity.
Also, choose recipients wisely. All too often, information is emailed to recipients who have no stake in the actions required. They end up trying to figure out their role, and frequently reply with questions. This wastes their time and yours.
Think about your communication style, content and context as you lead, direct, contribute, coach, facilitate, innovate and organize.
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“The ORG: The Underlying Logic of the Office” by Ray Fisman and Tim Sullivan (Twelve, $26.99).
Management tries its best to develop efficient, effective processes; yet organized chaos remains a staple of every organization. It’s well-nigh impossible “to align each person, regardless of his job or function, to make sure he’s contributing to whatever goal the org has taken for itself. And how do you combine these many roles under the larger umbrella of the org?”
Command-and-control didn’t work; there’s too much top-down and not enough timely feedback. It took too long to recognize problems and implement solutions — the costs of which escalated because lack of early recognition allowed the problems to grow.
Multi-divisional, decentralized structures pushed decision-making down a few levels. While division managers had a high degree of autonomy, senior HQ management often had the final word. Divisions would compete for resources and siloes developed. Redundancy did, too. Divisions were entities unto themselves and were staffed accordingly. Their salespeople would compete against each other. They maintained their own books and manufacturing/service activities operated independently. There were also additional costs associated with consolidating divisional data into the organizational whole.
Next came the matrix organizations. Functional groups (e.g. sales, finance, purchasing, R&D, legal, IT, etc.) were overlaid on product groupings. While this eliminated much redundancy, it created an organizational three-headed hydra. Managers now had to deal with information on products, functions and geographies to manage. Conflicts arose between product-decentralized and process-centralized functions.
Pushing decision-making to low levels followed. It works better on paper than in practice. Employees had to be ready and willing to make decisions; many weren’t. They had to know how the organizational goal fit within the context and content of their jobs; many didn’t.
So, what’s next? Management by trial-and-error will continue. Firms will generate profits; some because their tactics are working short-term; others in spite of themselves.
