Radical Management

What if you work for the people you hire, and not the other way around?

What if your job as a manager or entrepreneur is like that of a coach of an NBA team? You set the strategy and the plays, and you do what you can to prepare everyone and train them to the best of their abilities.

What if you only spoke with your team members once per week?

With some asynchronous communication in between?

What if perks at your company were related to performance – and you had health, fitness, and diet coaches on-site, so that your team truly trains like athletes?

What if the people on your team had just one or a few simple, clear goals and outcomes each month, and they have the freedom and responsibility to make them happen, with you as support, and them as the lead?

And so you say to them…

"Now that we've spoken at the beginning of the month about this sprint ahead, I won't contact you again until the end of the month when you show me what you've made.

But of course, if *I* can do anything for you, answer questions, give feedback, I'm available 24/7, but that's on *you* to contact me with what you need, so just ask for it."

The team can talk as needed, any time. But no meetings should be pre-set in the future. And the time amounts are unnecessary. A meeting could be about sharing information or making a decision.

If you outline that ahead of time, and you stay focused, shouldn't you just spend as much time as you need to share that information or make that decision?

(30, or 60 minutes seem to expand the problem to that time amount, instead of the other way around).

What if your strategy was always distilled to half a google doc, just a few bullet points, nothing more?

What if we're all hiding behind complexity, shifting responsibility away from ourselves, hoping it lands on someone else. In the mix of all of the meetings, we forget that we do well in environments where we need to step up, but our default is to shy away. And in the mix of our leadership, we forget to keep things simple, and that our job is to enhance the focus, creativity, and productivity with a clear strategy, clear responsibilities...and then getting out of the way.

xx David