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The Dreamy Enterprise

The Sydney Opera House

Ken Blanchard is a very close pal—we were for a year more or less roommates in a fraternity. Moreover, I deeply respect his work and its intellectual integrity and its ability to connect with busy people. Those who denigrate it are often de facto snobs who criticize it because it is clear and uses short words. (But then I'm the kind of guy who thinks you can learn more management-leadership from The Little Prince, which I bought and re-read Sunday, than 95% of Biz Books, doubtless including my own.)

All that said ... I admit that I have trouble with management books presented as parables.

Usually.

While at SFO before leaving for Sydney, I thumbed briefly through "one of those" parable books—and was, to my utter amazement, captured in a flash.

Okay, I'm gonna say it—I think Matthew Kelly's The Dream Manager is magnificent. Furthermore, I think that if you, Mr/Ms Manager-Executive,* don't "get it," you've got a big-time problem. (Well, that's harsh, unnecessarily so, but it does seem like patently obvious "stuff" ignored 89% of the time—and I'm being generous.) (*I almost dropped the "Ms," but thought I'd be accused of bias. Fact is, I think women "get" this sort of thing better than men—which, of course, is why they are typically better managers. Axiom #1: Humane workplaces make more money—believe it. Axiom #2: Humane workplaces are not "soft"; in fact, accountability is usually higher where people are treated well—believe it.)

Herewith, a couple of quotes from The Dream Manager, which may give you a flavor of the main argument (these are also on the slides in the "show" I just offered up in the prior Post): "An organization can only become the-best-version-of-itself to the extent that the people who drive that organization are striving to become better-versions-of-themselves." "A company's purpose is to become the-best-version-of-itself. The question is: What is an employee's purpose? Most would say, 'to help the company achieve its purpose'—but they would be wrong. That is certainly part of the employee's role, but an employee's primary purpose is to become the-best-version-of-himself or -herself. ... When a company forgets that it exists to serve customers, it quickly goes out of business. Our employees are our first customers, and our most important customers."

Tom Peters posted this on 09/16/07.

Comments

Dreams are free - dream some amazing ones! A pro golfer yesterday mentioned how he never in his wildest dreams imagined 61 wins already & 13 majors - but he made it happen.

Posted by John at September 17, 2007 9:07 AM

"Our employees are our first customers, and our most important customers." An intriguing premise if taken seriously. But I'd bet that many organizational leaders, if they told the truth, would privately acknowledge their tendency (and sometimes willingness) to burn out employees to satisfy customers. This question - Are employees our most important customers? - deserves a wider debate.

Posted by John O'Leary at September 18, 2007 3:28 PM

I would venture to say the most employers do care about their people, but are perpetually distracted trying to drive the business day to day and quarter to quarter. Therefore, taking a breath to focus on the long term desires and dreams of employees becomes lost in the "chase". What is so unique about the Dream Manager concept is that it re-establishes the "internal customer" as the initial platform and priority to facilitate a company's success. Common sense tells us that happier, healthier, and balanced employees will be more productive. Thus everyone wins...including society.

Posted by John Abbate at September 22, 2007 9:43 AM