Stop Spending, Start Managing

CHAPTER 7

From Wicked Problems to Workable Solutions

Throughout this book, we’ve explored the spending traps that ensnare managers as they attempt to achieve their missions. When in these thorny traps, managers aren’t making purposeful progress on their goals. They’re trying to send and receive signals, but face noisy interference rather than clear transmission. They’re investing their money, time, and energy in action, but end up losing the connection between their inputs and the results. When managers face action without traction, they’re in a zone of maximum frustration.

The traps are especially insidious because, ironically, they often result from the skills and strengths that have served successful people so well in the past. The very talents ...