Why would somebody who has been helping leaders all over the world say management is the problem and not the solution?
There are certainly exceptions to the rule, but in the new personalized service economy, management often becomes more of an obstacle than an enabler.
Why is management, or more specifically bureaucracy, the problem and not the solution in the personalized service economy?
If you believe like I do that the winners of the future will have real-time communication so they can deliver personalized service, then you understand that this simply does not align with a top down, hierarchical management structure.
Here is what I think the leading organizations of the world are figuring out:
It is much better to use technology to automate management decisions/boundaries.
It is much better to have real-time information that serves the front line than middle management.
It is much better to have an enabled front line associate who is empowered to serve the customer.
It is much better to drive decisions from the bottom up with VOC whenever possible.
This list may seem simple, but it is transformative.
This new personalized world requires new tools, information and decision making.
What I mean is management is used to making the decisions and cascading them down to the front lines.
If you want to deliver personalized exceptional service, it requires decision making be put on the front lines!
It has been said before, whether you call it an inverted organization or a networked organization, but this new personalized service economy requires a bottom up, not a top down, service process.
Things that can be done at the front lines today were thought impossible a handful of years ago. More importantly, things that you think can’t be done by the front line today are certainly going to be possible in the very near future.
Remember, technology and software grows exponentially both in power and in their applications.
The best organizations are those that enable their people with skills so they can stay one step ahead of the technology while creating personalized service experiences.
Republished with author’s permission from original post.
