Thursday, September 22, 2011

Human Experience Shows

Human experience shows that people, not organizations or management systems, get things done. For this reason, subordinates must be given authority and responsibility early in their careers. In this way they develop quickly and can help the manager do his work. The manager, of course, remains ultimately responsible and must accept the blame if subordinates make mistakes.

As subordinates develop, work should be constantly added so that no one can finish his job. This serves as a prod and a challenge. It brings out their capabilities and frees the manager to assume added responsibilities. As members of the organization become capable of assuming new and more difficult duties, they develop pride in doing the job well. This attitude soon permeates the entire organization.

One must permit his people the freedom to seek added work and greater responsibility. In my organization, there are no formal job descriptions or organizational charts. Responsibilities are defined in a general way, so that people are not circumscribed. All are permitted to do as they think best and to go to anyone and anywhere for help. Each person then is limited only by his own ability.

Admiral Rickover

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Captain Lambert,

Admiral Rickover was a leader who made up the rules and if you did not follow his rules I expect you were out of there in short order. It is easy enough for those of us today to follow established rules and procedures, but some of the ideas he states here, which differ from accepted business concepts most have known, are used in some of the modern companies of today (Microsoft and a number of the companies it has absorbed over the years). Some other computer electronics and game companies also operate in this fashion from what I understood. The Admiral was successful and I expect Bill Gates is considered successful as well, even if he did steal Apple’s interface and got by with it, which allowed for his success.

Very Respectfully,
Navyman834