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Sounds simple enough…

January 17, 2007 by Rosa Say

” yet it isn’t simply done ”


“If you want people to do a good job, give them a good job to do.”

—Frederick Herzberg, Management Theorist, as quoted in Bob Nelson’s 365 Ways to Manage Better

Odd moniker ”I wonder if Mr. Herzberg called himself a “Management Theorist,” or if that was Mr. Nelson’s doing?

Filed Under: MWA3P: Productivity and Projects

Comments

  1. John Richardson says

    January 18, 2007 at 3:39 am

    Rosa, I love that quotation. And it is so true. I am currently working on an unfunded but mandated data project for the state. It is the worst project I have ever had to deal with. Unrealistic deadlines, constant server crashes, and unintelligible instructions.
    I’m going to post this quotation on my wall…
    Thanks,
    John

  2. Rosa says

    January 18, 2007 at 10:47 am

    Aloha John, thanks so much; I appreciate knowing that the quote resonated with you – though I’m sorry to hear about the difficulty of the project.
    The underlying message of MWA is that we who are managers have a pretty profound effect on people, and while we easily understand this in regard to our personal management and leadership styles, we just as easily miss the mark with the work we design for others. We dismiss it as “just stuff, and not personal” when that “stuff” is indeed a result of our personal influence!
    Projects can raise some pretty big red flags, however we tend to think all will go away when the project is done, and we don’t consider how the irritations started in the first place! As the saying goes, we let those sleeping dogs lie…
    Good luck, I hope it gets better for you. On second thought, scratch the luck part, for knowing you, I’m sure you’ll be the catalyst to make the improvement happen!

  3. Pete Aldin says

    January 18, 2007 at 1:13 pm

    My favourite quote was from an old pre-war generation Aussie tradesman-turned-employer:
    “I always give the hardest job to the laziest person because they’ll find the quickest way to do it.”

  4. Rosa says

    January 18, 2007 at 9:18 pm

    Priceless Pete!

  5. Joyful Jubilant Learning says

    January 18, 2007 at 10:09 pm

    The Year of the Joyful Learner

    Aloha my fellow JJL-ers! Hau‘oli Makahiki Hou, as we say in Hawai‘i ”“ Happy New Year! Just back from my holiday ho‘omaha (a hiatus to rest and refresh) and easing in this week, and it does feel great to be

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