The Truth About Managing People, Third Edition

Truth 59. Beware of the Quick Fix

Too many modern managers are like compulsive dieters. They try the latest management craze for a few days (or months) and then move restlessly on to the next craze. The sad news for managers is the same that we’d offer dieters: There is no quick fix!

That said, there is no shortage of consultants, management-development professionals, and business journalists ready to pitch instant solutions to complex management problems. They’ve been doing it for more than five decades. In the 1960s, the list of “instant panaceas” included MBO, Theory Y management, sensitivity training, job enrichment, PERT, and the BCG Matrix. In the 1970s, you had centralized strategic planning, matrix organization designs, management by ...