Replacement Planning

The Art of Delegating – don’t take the monkey!

George vs. Douglas McGregor

The following day he comes in with his cards, and I can't wait to see how he dealt them. So I say, "Good morning, George. You want to lay your cards here on my desk? Lay your decisions in a pile over there and mine over here." He does. And would you believe what he did? Three cards in his pile and thirteen in mine! I look heavenward, and I say, "Douglas McGregor would roll over in his grave if he could see this. Douglas McGregor said, “People would rather assume responsibility than not. They would rather take initiative than not.” (He never knew George.) Nevertheless, I don't talk to George in that way. I'm not in the business of tearing men down; I'm in the business of building them up. So instead I say, pointing to what he did, "George, that's a very interesting beginning! I would like you now to pull out of your pile the card that bears the decision that you feel is the most urgently in need of attention." So he pulls one of the cards out of his pile of three."

I interrupt him: "George, I hope you realize what you just did. You just created a vacancy in your pile. Now, therefore between now and the next time we meet, I want you to take my pile of thirteen and find a suitable replacement for it. I would hate for you to run out of decisions." That is called "production planning and control." Now that it has been decided, by his own hand that decision-making is indeed a regular part of his job, it would be tragic for him to run out of raw materials inventory. Then I say, "George, by when will you make that decision?" He looks at it, and, says, "Well, Stancombe, that decision is going to take me at least three weeks."


What Precisely Is a Monkey? Procrastination vs. Insubordination George, the Trouble Shooter Procrastination Again Planning the Solution Honest Day's Work for a Fair Day's Pay Seeing It Like It Really Is Whole New Ballgame The Open Door Giving Monkeys Back The Key to Managerial Competitiveness Ground Rules for Handling Monkeys Replacement Planning A Career Risk of a Lifetime Freedom and Protection Joining Hands in Partnership Running Out of Wrong Decisions The Other Subordinates How's it Coming? The Professional Manager Returning Monkeys to Their Owner Discretionary Time Development of proposals for specific courses of action 'Proposal for Action' The Third Week Mutual Benefits The Professional Manager Using the Job Description Setting a Standard of Performance The Next Step Corporate Management Improvement Program A Management philosopher The Professional Subordinate "Boss, what do I do now?" Batting the Monkeys Back A collection of unrelated activities The Irreplaceable Employee Job Analysis Major Reorganisation Management by Results The Boss's Job Using his self- imposed time to get control of his boss-imposed time Getting the Boss's Ideas Delivering the Boss's Ideas Discretionary Time When "pro" works for "amateur" Monkey Feeding Rules Rules 1 and 2 Rule 3 Instead, as a pro, what did I do? Rule 4 Rule 5 Rule 6		The Art of Delegating – don’t take the monkey! George vs. Douglas McGregor The following day he comes in with his cards, and I can't wait to see how he dealt them. So I say, "Good morning, George. You want to lay your cards here on my desk? Lay your decisions in a pile over there and mine over here." He does. And would you believe what he did? Three cards in his pile and thirteen in mine! I look heavenward, and I say, "Douglas McGregor would roll over in his grave if he could see this. Douglas McGregor said, “People would rather assume responsibility than not. They would rather take initiative than not.” (He never knew George.) Nevertheless, I don't talk to George in that way. I'm not in the business of tearing men down; I'm in the business of building them up. So instead I say, pointing to what he did, "George, that's a very interesting beginning! I would like you now to pull out of your pile the card that bears the decision that you feel is the most urgently in need of attention." So he pulls one of the cards out of his pile of three." Replacement Planning I interrupt him: "George, I hope you realize what you just did. You just created a vacancy in your pile. Now, therefore between now and the next time we meet, I want you to take my pile of thirteen and find a suitable replacement for it. I would hate for you to run out of decisions." That is called "production planning and control." Now that it has been decided, by his own hand that decision-making is indeed a regular part of his job, it would be tragic for him to run out of raw materials inventory. Then I say, "George, by when will you make that decision?" He looks at it, and, says, "Well, Stancombe, that decision is going to take me at least three weeks."
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