In my line of work, there isn’t a whole lot of what you could call “management.”
According to my tax return, I’m a self-employed writer. I don’t really have a boss, nor do I have employees.
Shana, on the other hand, has lots of bosses and lots of employees.
So she was keenly interested in hearing what international business guru Daniel Pink (bestselling author of A Whole New Mind, and, most recently, Drive) had to say at a recent lecture.
Bestselling authors interest me, even if their subjects don’t. I like to see how publishing superstars handle an audience.
Mr. Pink lived up to his reputation. He talked engagingly about the thesis of Drive, which is that the best way to get people to solve difficult problems isn’t to throw money at them or threaten them with a pointed stick, but instead to give them lots of freedom, the satisfaction of improving their skills, and a feeling of purpose.
He was witty. He presented his case with clear visual aids. He used well placed bribes — a ten dollar bill; a foot-long sandwich from Subway — to keep the audience on his side.
It was a slick, well researched, well rehearsed performance. You couldn’t really argue with his conclusions, since they more or less confirmed what we all want to believe; i.e., that left to their own devices, people are essentially curious, creative, and productive, and that the only barrier to unleashing all of that creative energy is the outdated, inefficient, intrusive, bureaucratic morass traditionally known as “management.”
Like any good modern guru, Mr. Pink presented scientific studies to bolster his claims, and gave examples of enlightened, brand-name companies (“3-M!”, “Google!”) that do exactly what he suggests and therefore reap gigantic rewards.
It may seem counterintuitive, he argued, but financial incentives often produce a rush to the finish line, as opposed to a more thoughtful and creative solution to a problem. This is apparently just as true in the arts as in software design.
One of the studies cut a little close to home. According to a Yale University study, artists who work on commission actually produce worse work than artists who pursue projects on their own dime.
It’s true that Kafka, Joyce, and Proust weren’t exactly in it for the money. But what a bulletproof argument against a multiple book deal! The author who’s assured of a paycheck will produce an inferior book. Now, thanks to Mr. Pink, I’ll know what to watch out for if an evil publisher ever tries to sabotage my future work by offering to pay me for it up front!
Mr. Pink did concede that for certain kinds of work — repetitive, formulaic work, the kind of work, actually, that most Americans still do — the old carrot and stick model of management works extremely well. But he argued that the jobs of the future, and even the more complex jobs of today, fit into a new management paradigm, where the watchwords should be autonomy, mastery, and purpose. As in, the freedom to do a job in one’s own way; the satisfaction of developing one’s skills; and a reason larger than one’s self for doing the work in the first place.
It was a very good lecture, and I applauded along with the rest of the crowd, which seemed to catch a glimpse of a rosier future in what Mr. Pink had to say. But I couldn’t help thinking how some of the great leaders in history would have reacted to the talk.
Genghis Khan, for instance, who was one of the greatest “managers” the world has ever known, if the word “management” can be stretched to include maniacally bloodthirsty would-be world-domination. I imagined the great Khan calling on Mr. Pink’s services like a Fortune 100 CEO of today…
Genghis Khan (GK) : So, Dan, I want to get your input on this whole siege warfare thing.
Daniel Pink (DP) : Mighty Khan, thank you so much for the call. I’m thrilled to be here. I’m a big, big fan. Love what you’re doing in Asia. Very innovative.
GK: That’s just it, Dan. My people aren’t getting the results they used to. Back in my day, we’d roll up on a town, fling a few severed heads over the wall, and say, “Surrender, or we will kill every man taller than this whip!”
DP: That sounds quite effective.
GK: I came up with it myself. But ever since your seminar, instead of the head-flinging and the mortal threats, there’s a lot of talk about how great it would be if the town gave up its autonomy, submitted to my soldiers’ mastery, and yoked themselves to the Khan’s greater purpose.
DP : Wow. That’s a new take on the material.
GK : I know, right?
DP : Still, you have to love the creativity.
GK : I guess I’m loving it. I want to love it. But what I’d really love is a gigantic pyramid of my enemy’s skulls. And an equally gigantic mound of booty.
DP : Now, Genghis, remember what my book said about the illusions of money and power, how they’re really not soul-satisfying?
GK (sighing) : I know. I know. I need to get in touch with my “greater purpose.”
DP : Speaking of which, there’s the small matter of my consulting fee. Not a big deal. At all. But maybe your hetman could cut me check?…
This column was published in the Perry Co Times on 11 March 2010
For more information, please contact Mr. Olshan at writing@matthewolshan.com
