A Lesson From Drucker: Sudden Incompetence- A Danger for HR

I was thumbing through my copy of The Daily Drucker this morning. I always read the wisdom for the day, but then I read some other entries that I might have missed. One such entry is the one that appeared on June 7th. It dealt with the topic of "sudden incompetence." Drucker asks the question "Why should people who, for ten or fifteen years, have been competent suddenly become incompetent?" This is a question that managers and HR alike often puzzle over when dealing with people who have been promoted. He answers the question with "The reason in practically all cases I have seen, is that people continue in their new assignmentto do what made them successful in the old assignment and what earned them the promotion. They then turn incompetent, not because they have become incompetent, but because they are doing the wrong things." Basically we have not positioned people to be successful by not making clear to them the things that are crucial to the new challenge, the new job, or the new task.

This concept, however, has a more global meaning to the field of human resources. There are an ever increasing number of calls for  radical change in the field of HR. (See my interview with Kris Dunn on June 23rd and read his answers.) There are many people who feel that many HR departments and HR professionals have reached their level of sudden incompetence. Are you included among these described this way? Are you doing the same things in the past that were successful and got you accolades, but now are the reasons you are failing? If you are then you NEED TO CHANGE. Albert Einstein once said "The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results".

Today in HR there is a new challenge and a new job. It requires a differenct way of thinking. (Talent vs. headcount) It reqires new tools (Social media vs. Intranet). It requires new tasks (flexibility vs. rules). Things in the past need to be abandoned and new ways need to be embraced. If you don't do this then Albert's definition will apply to you and according to Drucker you will be deemed a "sudden incompetent."

What are the top FIVE things you are doing to stave off sudden incompetence? What can others learn from you?

Managing Nontraditional Workers: A Lesson From Drucker

From my edition of The Daily Drucker: 366 Days of Insight and Motivation for Getting the Right Things Done comes this lesson on managing nontraditional workers. With the increasing use of nontraditional workers, such as part-timers, temporaries, early retirees, freelancers, outsourced workers, and independent contractors the major challenge to management in today's corporations is to make sure they are productive. They may not be managed in traditional ways or by traditional methods. In fact they may not be managed at all. What management needs to focus on is NOT the activity of management but the outcomes produced by these workers.

To me this means a focus on measurement and results. For many managers this requires an adjustment in their "normal" means of management. Counting heads does not cut it anymore. Measuring results, agreed upon by both parties, is what counts.

So if you are using non-traditional workers what accountabiltiy do you have built into the management of their efforts? This is especially critical if you are using INDEPENDENT CONTRACTORS. With the USDOL and IRS watching these relationships with an eagle eye you need to make sure you follow the rules.

It never ceases to amaze me how good Drucker was in his insights. This thought about nontraditional workers was published in 2002 in Managing in the Next Society, which was a collection from previously published articles, yet it remains as relevant today as it was when first published.

Four Activities for The Survival of HR: Drucker Lesson of the Day

Peter Drucker in his book Management Challenges for the 21st Century talks about "universal entreprenurial disciplines" that he considers to be conditions that are necessary for any organization to survive today. I think these four disciplines are critical for HR's survival and will help HR contribute strategically to their organization. These four steps are:

Step 1- "...Organized abandoment of products, services, processes, markets, distribution channels, and so on that are no longer optimal allocations of resources." In any HR department there are processes that need to be abandoned. Have you ever asked yourself "why?" Why do you continue to file that paper, produce that report, take that step when it could be tossed out. Ever thought about eliminating it and seeing if anyone even noticed?

Step 2- "...must organize for systematic and continuing improvement." The hallmark of any great HR person is their desire to continually improve. Individually, this means constantly studying, reading, and learning in your field and in your business. Are you taking classes? Are you reading blogs? Are you going to conferences and visiting the vendors? You should be, this is how you improve. And if you improve then your department stands a good chance of improving as well.

Step 3- "...organize for systematic and continuous exploitation, especially of its successes." Building on success. This requires measurement and feedback in order to readjust. This feedback cycle needs to be built into every process HR is involved with.

Step 4- "And finally, it has to organize systematic innovation, that is, create the different tomorrow that makes obsolete and, to a large extent, replaces even the most successful products of today in an organization." Creating a different tomorrow requires understanding what tomorrow is and "technology" is tomorrow. If you are not paying heed to social media and the potential impact it will have on how you communicate with your employees, your managers and the organizations customers then you are not attuned to a "different tomorrow." It is my belief that social media will substantially change the intereactions with have with applicants, employees, the public and the government. Get on board. Denying they exist makes you the "Ostrich of HR" by burying your head in the sand.


This material came from my reading of The Daily Drucker: 366 Days of Insight and Motivation for Getting the Right Things Done. This is a great book to provide you with some daily inspiration from one of the major thought leaders of business.

A Lesson from Drucker: Can We Really Ignore People in an Intellectual Capital Economy?

I have a book called The Daily Drucker (Click the title for Amazon) that I enjoy reading for the daily wisdom. Sometimes there is something HR related, sometimes not. Today's subject came from The Practice of Management and deals with balancing objectives and measurements. To Drucker an emphasis totally on PROFIT was dangerous and undermined the future of the company. He suggests that are eight areas in which performance and objectives have to be set. Two of these are people related. These eight include:

1. Market standing
2. Innovation
3. Productivity
4. Physical and financial resources
5. Profitability
6. Manager performance and development
7. Worker performance and attitude
8. Public responsibility

He said these key items may require different emphasis in different businesses at different times and stages, BUT, as he says, "...the areas are the same, whatever the business, whatever the economic conditions, whatever the business's size or stage of growth." 

Manager performance and development and worker performance and attitude WHATEVER THE ECONOMIC CONDITIONS! Unfortunately far too many companies have ignored this sage advice and it is going to cost them. Lack of training in managers and lack of attention to employees in an economic downturn is going to cost many companies the talented people the will sorely need to reap the rewards of an upturn in business. In a day and time when many companies rely so heavily on the talent, intellect, and learning of their people it dooms a company to failure to ignore managerial development.  Stack on top of that a general mistreatment, or at least an lack of understanding and compassion for the plight of your workers and disaster happens.  All this is adding up to what many foresee as a mass exodus from companies by talented workers who supply the intellectual capital so many companies trade on today.

So take a look at your company. What objectives and goals have your set for the development of people that may forestall an exodus of your brain power? It is not too late for everyone. You can still recover but you must move swiftly and with purpose to re-engage and revitalize your workforce.

A Little Drucker Wisdom: We Should Have Listened

I am currently reading a book entitled "A Brief History of the Future: How Visionary Thinkers Changed the World and Tomorrow's Trends are 'Made' and Marketed" . One of the visionary thinkers featured in the book is Peter Drucker. Drucker, in his 39 books and numerous articles, weighed in on many management subjects. One of the subjects he discussed in 1977 and 1984, and felt strongly about his entire career, was executive compensation. His premise was that executives should not be paid exorbitant salaries. In his opinion no more that 20 times what the lowest level worker made. He felt it did not foster teamwork and sent the wrong messages about class. Some companies listened, but very few. Given the problems we have today perhaps we ALL should have.

As I was investigating this subject I came across a Businessweek article discussing the subject. Take a look at "Put a Cap On CEO Pay" by Rick Wartzman for a more complete discussion.

It just points out that when you label someone as "The Greatest Management Thinker of our Times" perhaps we should heed his/her advice. Guess we never learn.