The human mind has been described as a machine for jumping to conclusions, but it is the Really Ineffective Manager who raises this skill to an art form. It's not too hard to work out how they got that way. They started out in an entry-level position where the problems they had to deal with were small and simple, and the solutions obvious. In this context, jumping to the obvious conclusion was a pretty good method. It mostly worked, and also created an aura of being "dynamic" and "decisive." It's quite possible that this ability to solve simple problems fast got them their first promotion. And that is where the rot set in. Just as they have had their "dynamism" and "decisiveness" reinforced, they are moved into a world where the problems are bigger and more complex, and the solutions less obvious. They can now begin to develop their jumping-to-conclusions skills in a way which builds true Ineffectiveness.
Let's take an example. Start with a very typical sort of business, any sort of consulting or contracting business. It could be a marketing consultancy, or a bespoke software house, or a firm that builds websites. Once these reach a certain size they mostly organise into three parts. There is sales, which makes the sale. Then there is account management, which works out and specifies exactly what was sold. Then there is production, which makes the thing that was sold. Things can go wrong at any point. Sales could make the sale in a way that leaves the customer thinking they have bought one thing, and the firm thinking it has sold another (usually a much easier thing to do). Account management could let a well-sold project develop into the project from hell by failing to control scope creep. Or production could fail to deliver on time, to budget or to the agreed quality standard.
The crucial point here is that, although problems can arise at any stage, they only manifest at the last stage, in production. If sales sells an impossible project, they can throw the problem over the wall to account management. If account management get an impossible project, or manage to let a feasible project turn into an impossible one, they can throw the problem over the wall to production. Only then do we see that something is wrong. Wherever the problem is created, it manifests in production. And this is what creates the opportunity for some Really Ineffective Management. Everything is a production problem. The nice Really Ineffective Manager puts more resources into production. The nasty Really Ineffective Manager starts beating up production. Either way, they have jumped to a wrong conclusion, in a way that guarantees not solving the problem.
The world is complex. Your world is more complex than it was. Jumping to conclusions works less and less well. But, the Really Ineffective Manager pleads, what is the alternative? The alternative, whether you like it or not, is thought. You're going to have to spend a little time working things out before leaping into action. For the Really Ineffective, that's scary.
