2 posts tagged “small business”

I recently tuned into an interview with Henry Mintzberg.  He talks about his upcoming book  "Managing Right Now".  Professor Mintzberg succinctly defines managerial work by referring to four planes:

Plane #1.  The Thinking Plane---which involves strategizing, insights, big picture stuff

Plane#2. The Information Plane---processing information, finding out what is going on, issuing orders etc.

Plane#3.  The People Plane--Leading people and linking to people externally.  I agree with his point that leadership and management are one in the same.  He asks, "Have you ever seen a leader that is a bad manager or vice-versa?"  The answer is clearly, no.  So he does not understand why people tend to  separate the two, although he says it is ok to separate some characteristics..  But ultimately his view is" ..the separation [of] leaders and managers is nonsense and creates a lot of misery.  Managers have to be leaders and leaders have to be managers.."

Plane#4. The Action Plane--Managing projects, fighting fighters internally, and doing deals externally.

Pretty basic stuff that should not leave anyone guessing what management is about.

Can Canadian companies compete in a global economy?

This will easily be another story that could be part of the new book "Why Mexicans don't drink Molson".  Essentially,  the book criticizes Canadian companies for having a domestic mentality and not being able to compete internationally.