Management Styles

A sort of back handed compliment about my manager, Larry, at Menasco :

Over the years I learned that the best way to work "with" him was to play the game, that being his game.

I saw people push back at him and it never worked out and back in 1990, I started my first year as a jobshopper under Larry and just one thing he said changed the way I thought, it was my second day there and he told me to move a bunch of boxes from the old stress area to the new one.

I baulked and sort of protested and he said "You're getting paid the same rate for moving boxes, so just do it" and the "just do it" concept stuck with me, you know, the "paint it pink" approach, where if the bosses told me to do something, I just did it, occasionally I'd suggest an alternative and that was accepted better than a disagreement.

Acronyms, JDI (just do it) and stage two JFDI - adding a four, or is it seven letter, word to the mix...

In later years, the approach to "just do it" and the get it out on time regardless approach hurt the company. However, in Canada, those two (Larry and Gerry) have been my best bosses, probably because they always gave direction and sometimes gave the occasional high profile bollicking, which was sadly missing with the Dowty bunch - they're very politically correct but sneaky and do a lot of back biting - not that it didn't go on at Menasco that is!

If I could choose a management style it would be the former, having bosses that are willing to go on record and accept blame is always far better than those that are wishy washy and force their minions to make "bad" decisions.