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junior is smarter, you get an intolerable situation where the senior
interferes. If a dull senior interferes continually on a by-pass, it's a
sure way to start a mutiny. And a senior who doesn't inspect or get
inspections done does not know and so looks dull to his juniors who have
looked.
The safe way in all cases is to issue orders that are very standard on
policy and obvious and to issue them to the next one on the command channel
and then in the future inspect or get an inspection. If on the inspection
one finds non-compliance with a standard on-policy order, one promptly
calls for a hearing on the next one down the line who received the order.
Here's a terribly simple example: Org Exec Sec sees statistic for Tech
Div down. Issue order to Tech Sec, "Get the gross divisional statistic up
at once." Now nothing could be plainer or more standard. In two weeks the
Org Exec Sec looks at the statistic, sees it is even further down and calls
for a hearing on the Tech Sec for non-compliance or a Comm Ev to get all
the evidence in about the matter.
This is about as basic as you can get with an inspection, an order and a
further action all by a senior, the inspection being done by QIC and
reported by graph.
Life in actual fact is very simple and an org is today a very elementary
mechanism.
It is easy to run an organization providing one makes it run and handles
things in it that refuse to run.
Where an Exec Sec is baffled on occasion is the apparent unwillingness
of a section to function. Now this is so far down the command channel that
info on it does not easily arrive back at the top.
The thing to do where possible is personally inspect. Or get it
inspected. One often finds the silliest things.
Example: Book Shipping statistic is really down, man, down. One orders
and harangues and argues trying to get books shipped. One gets the quantity
of books looked into. It's okay. One gets shipping materials looked into.
They're okay. A Shipping clerk is on the Org Board. But orders to the
Dissern Sec just never get books shipped. So finally one gathers up the
Dissern Sec, Dir Pubs and Books-in-Charge and goes down to Book Shipping-
Lo! They have been building a machine that wraps books tightly when a rock
is rolled off a bench! (This actually happened in DC in about 1958.) It has
taken a month to build it and will require another to finish it and one and
all in that Division are convinced this is the answer. The order? "Break
that machine up and start wrapping books by hand and I want that backlog
gone in one week." To the Dissern Sec, of course, in front of everyone for
his soul's sake. And publish the order in writing as soon as possible.
So you see, you have to inspect because what seems logical and okay to
juniors may be completely silly. Remember, that is why they are juniors and
have seniors.
Frankly you can never guess at what holds some things up. You have to
look. Often you can solve it for them. But solve it with their agreement
and on command channel if you want it done.
You can't always sit in an ivory tower and issue orders. You have to
know the ground and the business.
Over a period of fifteen years of active management of these
organizations I have a pretty good idea of what can happen in one. And to
one.
I try to be right more often than wrong. I don't try to be perfect as
one's best plans are often goofed. I try to get done what can be gotten
done. And I carry a little