Last week, I got a call from a consultant who lamented the “failure of all those management movements.” As usual in these conversations, the caller went on to explain how his particular idea was what leaders and managers really needed.
That type of lament seems increasingly common in literature about the need for “transforming organizations” and “transforming society.” I think the lament is simplistic and even reckless.
There have been many major movements and models in management, e.g., scientific management, management by objectives, quality circles, Total Quality Management, Business Process Re-Engineering, One-Minute Managing, Self-Managed Teams … the list goes on.
I assert that many of these movements and models became integrated with the others and that many of them built on each other — they didn’t “fail” any more than a recent addition to a house was a “failure” because more additions were needed, or any more than therapy sessions were a “failure” because the person needed more therapy later on.
I sometimes wonder if the hyperbole from consultants and writers is as dangerous as the situations those people are trying to improve.
What do you think?
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Carter McNamara, MBA, PhD – Authenticity Consulting, LLC – 800-971-2250
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Carter McNamara of Authenticity Consulting, LLC, provides organization development and consultant training services, and is developer of the Free Management Library. 
Jim Smith has been a consultant for over 40 years, and has very strong knowledge and expertise in successfully guiding change
in many types of organizations.
While I attempt not to be a hyperbolic consultant myself, I agree that there are some who engage in bombast for bombast’s sake on multiple topics.
The challenge with any of the “management movements” — and with many new subjects introduced at or below the “C suite” level — is the lack of follow-up training. You can’t learn a new paradigm in a one-day (or even one-week) training session. You need hands-on experience and refresher training or the entire training exercise has been a waste of time and money. I see that all the time in organizations that have invited me to conduct media training or training in another crisis management-related topic.
The field of organizational development / process improvement can’t be static. In order to remain relevant it must continue to evolve and change to meet the ongoing challenges of business.