Manage by Affirmation

Accounting types like me are trained to keep track of numbers, to be good at financial analysis, and to make detailed reports about dollars and cents. However a better way to express my goals is to be concerned with "dollars and sense". Its more than just accounting for numbers.

Recently, the Red Sox have re signed Mike Lowell, their most valuable third baseman, who was instrumental in the Red Sox championship season this year. Beginning in July, I read newspaper reports that Mike might not be playing for the Red Sox after 2007. The speculation seemed to be that he would want a four year contract to stay, and the Red Sox policy for players in their 30's was that 3 year contract offers were the standard, since their statistics said that the productivity of players over thirty tends to decline See Johnny Damon, who went with the Yankees as an example.

After the season was over, Mike Lowell was a free agent, and his agents did try to find out what other teams would offer, including a four year contract. Still Mike ended up staying with the Red Sox and probably taking a "home team discount".

What I noticed in the press coverage, was that the quotes of Red Sox management and Mike Lowell were consistently respectful. The Red Sox acknowledged Mike's performance, and Mike said he would like to stay. But each party acted as if the player's contract is first a business arrangement, that each side had its objectives, and that blame or fault-finding was not part of the conversation. If Mike re signed, wonderful, but if he had gone to another team, I'm sure that neither the Red Sox management nor Mike Lowell would have made any recriminating statements to the media. Baseball contracts are first a business arrangement, and fans need to remember that.

It's easy to find fault with someone's performance, be they an employee, a customer, a vendor, or just an acquaintance. For some employers, management by blame is standard procedure, a way to keep someone else on the defensive. But management by blame is a costly process, and hurts employee morale. Employees can become discouraged by constant criticism for their mistakes, which is not offset by deserved praise for their successes. People who are managed by blame tend to have higher job turnover, and high job turnover is one of the most expensive aspects in running a business. By encouraging employees, you will see better performance, and the employees will look forward to a day's work with anticipation, not dread.

You know that a baseball player whose batting average is above 300, or whose on base percentage is above 400 is an all star candidate. Looking at it another way, if you are managing by blame, you could say that a 300 hitter fails to get a hit seven out of each ten times! So it depends on how you look at the task, and what is a reasonable standard in the arena in which you play.