Theory X and Theory Y, Revisited

Are workers cogs in a profit wheel, or can they make the wheel bigger?  In 1960, during the dawn of modern management theories, Douglas McGregor squared off against Taylor's efficiency model.  McGregor espoused building on people's natural instincts to perform well, vs. Taylor's dehumanizing time-and-motion principles.

Well, McGregor must be smiling down on Zeynep Ton, a Turkish woman who is a professor at M.I.T.'s Sloan School of Managment -- also McGregor's pulpit.  She has demonstrated how retail workers can add to the bottom line, while earning respectable wages.

Read Adam Davidson's piece in The New York Times Magazine, 01/05/14 - "A Ready-To-Asemble Business Plan" to see how progressive managment practices have made Ikea a better place to work - and shop.

My own experience with leading self-managed teams in a pink-collar insurance environment was also proof positive.   

Money Under the Mattress?

My grandparents in Kansas lost their first house during the Great Depression and I grew up hearing about not trusting banks.  While my parents certainly used banks, and had a mortgage, my mom kept wads of cash in a coffee can in a cupboard -- this was the '60s, before credit cards were common.

In my career years working for giant insurance companies, stuffing money in mattresses (or coffee cans) seemed quaint at best -- bordering on paranoia.  However, in 2008 came 'The Crash' and masses of people once again lost their homes and savings.  Perp walks of former 'Masters of the Universe' graced the front pages.

So where are we now, after 5 years and many mea culpas?  Read Floyd Norris' article in the NYT (Business Day - 11/1/13).  As I understand it, a Libor  (London interbank offered rate) scandal in 2012 cast Barclays as the villian, and now Rabobank has fessed up to bad banking.  Fines have ensued -- a new head has rolled -- six countries have "moved some chairs around" -- and everyone is going to behave!

The fraudulant practices included traders bragging that while they were bad  boys, there were much bigger crooks in the market!  

My twenty-something daughter discovered many hidden fees and provisions when she went to close a business account, and her view of banks is not printable on this page.  Looks like the mattress, or the can in the cupboard, might be making a comeback.

Workplace Wisdom?

Businesses are reluctant to groom new talent, and are quick to release older workers and their institutional wisdom.  Picture a workforce of young-ish people trying to learn the ropes on their own, where costs are king.  In a NYT article, "A Dearth of Investment in Young Workers", Tyler Cowen, a professor of economics at George Mason University, warns that we face a stubborn problem in developing future talent. (9/8/13 - Economic View) 

What is the cost of NOT growing the next generation of workers? 

Compassion & Cake

Delia Ephron's excellent NYT article, "You Can't Have It All, But You Can Have Cake" tells us having it all "is the magical time when what you want and what you have match up."  Fleeting, it requires seizing the moment, vs. creating a checklist for that high school reunion. In her case, it may occur in a Manhattan bakery.  Her upcoming book, "Sister Mother Husband Dog (etc)" is on my must-read list.  (Sunday Review, 9/8/13)

 "The Value of Suffering" by Pico Iyer, an author and distinguished presidential fellow of Chapman University, examines similar concepts as a cover story in that same NYT Sunday Review.  He reflects on recent and random examples of calamities in relation to philosophical notions of hidden blessings.  Beautiful thoughts about the shared suffering that can create compassion -- and crack us open to other realities.  Perhaps like Delia Ephron, who recently  lost her beloved sister, Nora -- an 18th century haiku master, Kobayashi Issa noted that "This world of dew is a world of dew"  .... And yet, and yet..."

To me, suffering, or walking a difficult path with another, does not guarantee cosmic clarity ... but using our senses to look around us can help us put things back together and start anew.  Like Delia, we may even get to eat cake with the sun on our backs.

Cherry Ames Calling?

The Avon Lady and the Fullerbrush Man may have moved to the internet, but the cheery Cherry Ames, Student Nurse, may become a fixture on our doorsteps.  Seems house calls can reduce health care costs by 20-40%, compared with hospital treatment.  Services can include urgent but not emergency care, as well as management of chronic and age-related illnesses.  Technology, of course, is a critical partner -- and in some cases, health visits can be virtual.  Great article in the NYT - "Hi, It's Your Doctor" by Ezekiel J. Emanuel, an oncologist & professor who used to go on house calls with his own dad.

(September 6, 2013 - Op Ed)