Spiral Up: ... and Other Management Secrets Behind Wildly Successful Initiatives

Chapter 5. Secret #2: Make Space

The science of conventional management is all about structure. We take our raw materials—money, people, technical know-how, time, and so on—and arrange them as neatly as possible into engines of progress. We articulate goals and priorities, clarify organizational roles and responsibilities, establish deadlines and metrics to gauge performance, then kick-start our motors and off we go.

Then it gets interesting. Diligent managers police their initiatives to make absolutely sure that nothing goes wrong. They watch budgets and timelines with cold, hawklike eyes and jealously guard against anything that would interfere with their agenda. This is a downside vigil. These normal management tactics—what some would even call ...