1. 13 Fatal Errors of Management
Case Studies in Turfgrass Management
TURF 436W

2. Management
“the skill of attaining predetermined objectives with and through the voluntary cooperation and effort of others”

3. 13 Fatal Errors Refuse to accept personal accountability
Fail to develop people
Try to control results instead of influencing thinking
Join the wrong crowd
Manage everyone the same way
Forget the importance of profit

4. 13 Fatal Errors (cont’d)
Concentrate on problems rather than objectives
Be a buddy, not a boss
Fail to set standards
Fail to train your people
Condone incompetence
Recognize only top performers
Try to manipulate people

5. Refuse to accept personal accountability
This sets the stage for asking the right questions:
What did I do wrong?
What should I do to rectify this situation?
What can I learn from this?

6. Fail to develop people
Managers who build dependency do so out of personal insecurity
Managers who deny subordinates the experience of solving routine problems deny them the opportunities for growth

7. Fail to develop people (cont’d)
When confronted with a problem by a subordinate:
Look at the person
Listen with your eyes, as well as your ears
Advise and counsel

8. Fail to develop people (cont’d)
In promoting people to management positions:
Send them to a management seminar as a first step to acquire new knowledge
Provide new responsibilities by degrees to coach them in the development of new skills (and assess their aptitude for management)

9. Fail to develop people (cont’d)
Character is one of the important qualities that must be developed long before one is old enough to enter the work force
Characters:
Court jesters – joke their way out of problems and leave the mess for others
Bumblers – make others look good
Eccentrics – march to a different drummer

10. Try to control results instead of influence thinking
THOUGHTS create
FEELINGS affect
ACTIVITY rewarded/recognized
HABITS generate
RESULTS

11. Try to control results instead of influence thinking (cont’d)
Questions people ask when confronted with a new challenge:
Can I succeed?
Where is the value to me?
(i.e., where is the self-esteem?)

12. Join the wrong crowd
Pronoun disease – the tendency of some employees to use they instead of we
Loyalty – means that I share a common ideal with you, not that I agree with everything you say or that I believe you are always right

13. Manage everyone the same way
DON’TS
Play the role – indicates you are not up to the task and need these trappings to feel capable
Manage by staff meeting – management is largely a “one-to-one proposition”

14. Manage everyone the same way (cont’d)
MANAGEMENT STYLES
Autocratic – manager draws on his strength rather than from the strength of others
Bureaucratic – manages by the book
Democratic – allows employees to participate in decision making
Idiosyncratic – adapts his management style to each employee

15. Forget the importance of profit
No enterprise can long survive without generating a surplus over its costs of operation
Even nonprofit organizations must maintain this discipline

16. Concentrate on problems rather than objectives
“Management is essentially a thinking, not a doing job”
When a person under your management fails to perform satisfactorily, do you ask:
What’s the reason for the lack of performance? or
What’s wrong with this person?

17. Be a buddy, not a boss
You must be either a buddy or a boss; successful hybrids do not exist
While you can relax and have fun with an employee, it’s never entirely social; it’s a professional, business relationship

18. Be a buddy, not a boss (cont’d)
You can’t be responsible for people; that’s the job of a parent, not a manager
You must be responsible to them by giving them the support they need to do their jobs
They must be responsible to you, by giving you the performance you need

19. Fail to set standards
Standards encompass such things as ethics, morality, safety, and performance.
Performance standards:
Quantity – the amount of product or service produced
Quality – the errors or mistakes made; the appearance or impressions given
Timeliness – meeting deadlines
Cost – living within the budget, with respect to men, money, and materials

20. Fail to set standards (cont’d)
Standards eliminate management pressures by eliminating personality from tough decision making.
Standards serve as a covenant between an employee and his organization, based on understanding, good faith, and mutual commitment.

21. Fail to train your people
Management’s role is to induce employees to consistently perform at PAR;
thus, the dual role of every manager is to:
Get people from entry level to PAR
Maintain PAR, once attained

22. Fail to train your people (cont’d)
PAR’s elements:
Precedents – guides for evaluating future behavior (e.g., job description, policies, objectives)
Actions – what employees do
Results – the consequences of actions

23. Fail to train your people (cont’d)
If the hiring manager did not make a mistake in selection, only 3 reasons remain for why a person does not do his job:
He doesn’t know what the job is
He doesn’t know how to do the job
Someone or something interferes with his desire or ability to do the job

24. Fail to train your people (cont’d)
Classroom training formula:
Uncover – establish a need to learn
Discover – provide instruction
Recover – provide hands-on experience

25. Condone incompetence Why?
They feel the need to be loved and seek it on the job
They hope the problem will disappear if they ignore it
They lack the willingness or ability to confront others

26. Condone incompetence (cont’d)
Principles of effective confrontation:
Confront immediately
Confront privately
Be specific
Use data
Be clear
Provide redirection
Follow up

27. Recognize only top performers
The Personal Touch
Break objectives into bite-size pieces
Provide a support system to help each person achieve his or her objectives
Provide personal and timely recognition for attaining objectives

28. Try to manipulate people
Traditional management motivational approaches
Fear - the “stick”
Rewards – the “carrot”
Belief building – help the individual establish a belief in himself, his organization, and the products/services rendered