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57. Be decisive, even if it means being wrong sometimes

"I don't know what kind of people you're used to dealing with. Nobody tells me what to do in my place." Karen Allen in Raiders of the Lost Ark

I bet you hate the type of manager who refuses to make a decent decision in case they make the wrong one. The prevaricating, indecisive, frightened manager who won't decide until it's too late or they get the decision made for them. I've worked for a few and there is nothing more irritating than someone who fence-sits because they don't know which way to jump - and all in the name of fear. They are frightened to decide in case they make a mistake - one that might cost them their job. Big deal. Better to jump and make a mistake than to sit there too frightened to make a move. Bring it on.

And suppose it does turn out to be the wrong decision. Well, sometimes out of big mistakes something bright and shiny and magical appears and we land on our feet with a tra-la and manage to look good despite sometimes not knowing what we were doing. This is the magic manager that I want you to be. The instinctive manager around whom anything can happen - and will. If you want to sit on a fence, go find another book to read.

Now I'm not saying here that you should make rash, ill-thought-through decisions. I'm assuming as a good manager that if it's that kind of decision, you have looked at the evidence before you and weighed it up, maybe asked for views from others. It's that point in the process I'm talking about - the point where you are tempted to shirk the decision, in case it turns out to be the wrong one.

This is about courage. The courage to be wrong sometimes. The courage to take a risk. The courage to be scared in a good way (sitting on a fence because you are scared is a lot different from taking a big decision and being scared but exhilarated).

All you've got to do is look at the facts, weigh them up, ask advice, listen to your intuition and then do it - make the decision. Be dynamic, be bold.

58. Adopt minimalism as a management style

"Seek honest, minimalist management. Look for companies run by a team that explains things clearly and briefly. I'll admit, judging manage­ment honesty isn't always so simple. It's not as if the crooks out there come with black masks, striped jump-suits, and carry sacks with dollar signs on them. But you can tell a lot about the firm by reading an annual report or two, readily available. If management can't explain the busi­ness in plain English, move on to another firm. If you see phrases like 'creating knowledge-based value in emerging markets'. . . someone is trying to pull the wool over your eyes, you lazy Fool. Run." Seth Jayson, 'Stocks for the Lazy Investor', The Motley Fool, www.fool.com

Minimalism means not issuing lengthy reports. It means not issuing memos every 20 minutes. It means keeping rules to the minimum* and letting people get on with their jobs. It means mission statements that make sense, are clear and easy to under­stand and are simple. It means management where managers use professionals and let them get on with their tasks in peace and quiet. It means managers who are secure in themselves and don't need to score points, bully or interfere. Minimalist management is all about getting more by doing less. Yes, sure you have to be the boss, but it's more like steering a big ship - the tiniest touch of the wheel is enough. You swing that wheel violently from side to side and you're off course in an instant.

There is an old Chinese saying; 'Govern a country the same way you cook small fish', i.e. don't keep fiddling with them or they fall apart. Manage a department, team or company in pretty much the same way - gently, discreetly, unobtrusively. Better to be under­stated than too obvious.

* No, not these Rules, I mean the petty ones - you have to wear a tie, you have to have one doughnut, not two at coffee time, you have to address senior management as Mr/Mrs X and not use their first names, you have to park tidi­ly, you have to wear sensible shoes, you have to . . you know what I mean.

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