The Business Book

(Joyce) #1

51


Enablers are the realm of middle managers,
according to Michael Hammer’s analysis of the
science of management. When implemented
and maintained efficiently, they foster
growth and turn the vision of
senior executives into reality.

The development of infrastructure
and the strength of a new layer of
middle management were key
factors in the evolution of UK retailer
Cath Kidston from a single store
in 1993 to more than 120 global
branches and concessions by 2013,
with stores throughout Europe and
Asia, and plans to expand into
North America. Widely renowned
for its vintage fabrics, wallpapers,
and brightly painted junk furniture,
Kidston’s initial growth, as is
common with many single-founder
start-ups, was slow. In the early
days, monthly accounts took six
weeks to prepare and clashes
between IT systems caused issues
with cash-flow projections and
supply-chain management. It took
nine years to open a second branch,
and another two before the third.
Following a buy out in 2010,
Cath Kidston became partly owned
by a US private-equity group, with
Kidston herself retaining about 20
percent of stock. As expansion took
hold, the company started to move
from ad-hoc processes to a more
planned approach. Specialized
managers and consultants were
brought in to help build capacity for
growth. New departments were
added, including design, buying,
and merchandising, and systems
were introduced. Most importantly,
middle management gained
experience of what it takes to open
and run a new store. The lessons
from earlier mistakes were
integrated into procedures and
policies; by building on experience,
every new store opening became
easier than the last.


Excess and habit
The dangers of processes and of
hierarchy (if it becomes excessive)
are that they may begin to grip the
organization too tightly. Protocol
and bureaucracy can wear people


down, stifling innovation and
hindering growth. As markets and
technology move ever faster,
process must not blind managers to
opportunity, and systems must not
restrict strategic agility. For
example, Motorola continued to
invest in satellite technology
throughout the 1990s even after
competitors had switched to
cheaper, more effective ground-
based cell towers.
Habit can also twist logic. So
habitual, for example, were the
claims of ethical behavior from
Dennis Kozlowski, CEO of Swiss
security company Tyco International,
that he seemed able to divorce the
reality of his own behavior from his
rhetoric—in 2005 he was convicted
of corporate fraud. Habit can also
lead to hubris. Buoyed by his
business’s accomplishment in
electronics, in 1994 Samsung CEO
Lee Kun-Hee believed that the
same approach would lead to
success in the car market, but the
venture struggled and was rescued
in 2000 by Renault. The experience
(and habits) of Renault’s managers

START SMALL, THINK BIG


have since helped Renault Samsung
Motors gain a footing within the
South Korean automotive market.
Business leaders dismiss the
value of middle management, and
the value of process, at their peril.
Without middle managers who are
able to evolve a leader’s vision into
reality, many businesses would be
stuck like those of the pre-railroad
era, destined to remain small, local,
and family run. It is the science of
management that enables business
evolution and growth. ■

If you can’t describe
what you are doing
as a process, you don’t
know what you’re doing.
W. Edwards Deming

Middle
managers

Performance management

Design

Protocol

Process

Responsibilities

Infrastructure
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