Managing

MANAGING This page intentionally left blank HENRY MINTZBERG MANAGING Managing Copyright © 2009 by Henry Mintzberg All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, write to the publisher, addressed “Attention: Permissions Coordinator,” at the address below. Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. 235 Montgomery Street, Suite 650 San Francisco, California 94104-2916 Tel: (415) 288-0260, Fax: (415) 362-2512 www.bkconnection.com Ordering information for print editions Quantity sales. Special discounts are available on quantity purchases by corporations, associations, and others. For details, contact the “Special Sales Department” at the Berrett-Koehler address above. Individual sales. Berrett-Koehler publications are available through most bookstores. They can also be ordered directly from Berrett-Koehler: Tel: (800) 929-2929; Fax: (802) 8647626; www.bkconnection.com Orders for college textbook/course adoption use. Please contact Berrett-Koehler: Tel: (800) 929-2929; Fax: (802) 864-7626. Orders by U.S. trade bookstores and wholesalers. Please contact Ingram Publisher Services, Tel: (800) 509-4887; Fax: (800) 838-1149; E-mail: customer.service@ingram publisherservices.com; or visit www.ingrampublisherservices.com/Ordering for details about electronic ordering. Berrett-Koehler and the BK logo are registered trademarks of Berrett-Koehler Publishers, Inc. First Edition Hardcover print edition ISBN 978-1-57675-340-8 PDF e-book ISBN 978-1-57675-895-3 2009-1 Production management by Michael Bass Associates. This edition is for sale in the western hemisphere, Australia, and New Zealand. In Europe, Africa, and Asia, this book is published by Prentice Hall/Financial Times imprint of Pearson Education Ltd., www.pearsoned.co.uk. To all those ✓ —Sasa first of all— who manage with wisdom and respect. This page intentionally left blank Contents Preface ix A Note to the Reader xi 1 2 3 4 5 6 Managing Ahead 1 The Dynamics of Managing 17 A Model of Managing 43 The Untold Varieties of Managing 97 157 The Inescapable Conundrums of Managing Managing Effectively 195 237 APPENDIX Eight Days of Managing Bibliography Index 291 305 275 About the Author vii This page intentionally left blank Preface In 1973 I published The Nature of Managerial Work, based on my doctoral dissertation—a study of a week in the working lives of five chief executives. I claimed in the preface that, as a kid, I always wondered what my father, the president of a small manufacturing firm, did at the office. I found out some, but not enough. So six years ago, thirty years later, I decided to revisit the subject, determined to find out what my wife, a manager in the world of telecommunications, did at the office. Not that I believed managing had changed; I changed, or at least I hope so. (Whoever reads both books can be the judge of what I learned over the years.) This time I based the book on a day I had spent in the working lives of twenty-nine managers, of all kinds. So I must begin by thanking the twenty-nine people (named in a table a few pages forward) who opened up their jobs and their thoughts for this “fly on the wall.” You will become aware of their contribution to this book from beginning to end. Many other people have contributed profoundly in other ways. My personal assistant these past ten years, Santa Balanca-Rodrigues, outdid herself on this one. At one point she was going flat-out, almost literally around the clock, to get the manuscript to the publisher. I am deeply indebted to her, as much as a friend with her wise and concerned counsel as for her direct contribution to the manuscript. Gui Azevedo, my superresourceful research assistant, contributed in a number of ways (not least in cracking the nut of how to show the model of managing in Chapter 3: “You call them planes,” he said, “so why don’t you show them that way?” I never thought of that!). Then, when Gui was ix x MANAGING called by the Amazon (river, not .com), Nathalie Tremblay stepped in to clean up the manuscript wonderfully well. I ran the two trickiest chapters (4 and 6) past the members of our doctoral colloquium and received many helpful ideas. I want to single out Brian King, who provided a good deal of thoughtful comment. Jacinthe Tremblay also helped out on the conundrums of managing in Chapter 5. I am blessed to have worked again on this book with people who continue to practice publishing in the old-fashioned way: with deep and respectful concern for the contents of their books and the thoughts of their authors. Steve Piersanti, who has created a very special operation at Berrett-Koehler in the United States, and Richard Stagg, who heads up a team of highly competent people in trade management at Pearson in the U.K., both offered much detailed input, especially in ways that have brought this book closer to its readers. Writers love words, or they wouldn’t write. The trouble is that they love their own words best of all. At one point, I finally got the message of their words, and that turned this book around. Both publishing houses also sent the book out to a number of reviewers who provided very useful feedback. I would like to mention especially Charlie Dorris, Jeff Kulick, Stefan Tengblad, and Linda Hill. Once again, Michael Bass and his team brought their considerable skills to production; my special thanks to Laura Larson for the copyediting. ✓ Finally, a great big heartfelt thank you to the manager in my life. Sasa, who knows all this far better than I do, was a constant source of subtle but for me “Gee whiz!” comments and contributed in so many other ways. Henry Mintzberg Montreal May 2009 A Note to the Reader “READ ME FIRST” This book is written for everyone interested in the practice of managing—managers themselves, people who work with managers (in selection, assessment, and development, etc.), and others who want to understand managing better (scholars, teachers, students, other nonmanagers). All have different needs, so let me offer some guidance. Please note first that I have highlighted key sentences throughout this book in boldface, to serve as a running summary of its main points. (There are no summaries in the introduction or conclusion to each chapter; in my view, these boldface sentences do it more effectively and no less efficiently, by being embedded in the text that they summarize.) If you are one of those busy managers described in Chapter 2, or anyone else short of time, you can use these sentences to follow the thread of the argument, probing around the points you find of greatest interest. The first two chapters of this book are its shortest and sharpest: they set the tone. The next two are longer and more involved, because they address the substance of managing, which is no simple matter. And the last two, of intermediate length, are more applied and in places more fun—at least for me to write and I hope for you to read. A few words on each follow. Chapter 1: Managing Ahead This introduces the book and my view of managing. I suggest you read all of this. Chapter 2: The Dynamics of Managing This should be easy reading— or scanning, for that matter. You might wish to give special attention to the last section, on “The Impact of the Internet” (starting on page 34). xi xii MANAGING Chapter 3: A Model of Managing This is a more intricate chapter, presenting what I see as the essence of managing. You can get a good sense of it from the boldface sentences, but I cannot single out any special section; as I conclude, this is a model whose components cannot be isolated. Readers who know little about managing will find Chapters 2 and 3 the most helpful. Chapter 4: The Untold Varieties of Managing This was the toughest chapter to write and perhaps also to read—because, I like to believe, of the sheer varieties of managing. Again, the boldface sentences can help. The second-to-last section, on the “Postures of Managing” (starting on page 133), pull the ideas of this chapter together. A number of controversial points in this chapter, especially about the failure of ostensibly key factors (such as culture and personal style) to explain much of what managers do (from pages 102 and 121, respectively), may be of special interest to researchers and specialists in management development. Chapter 5: The Inescapable Conundrums of Managing I had a great time writing this chapter and suspect that you may especially enjoy reading it, particularly if you are a manager and so live with these things every day. This is the most applied chapter of the book; hence, managers, especially those who think there is some kind of magic bullet, should read this carefully. Chapter 6: Managing Effectively Much of this chapter should be easy and enjoyable reading, especially the opening on “The Inevitably Flawed Manager” (starting on page 196) and the closing on “Managing, Naturally” (page 232), as wel