The Rules of Management, 4th Edition

RULE 42

Know what you are supposed to be doing

So what are you supposed to be doing? It’s very easy to think you know, but do you really? It’s like when your boss says, ‘I want this done as soon as possible’. Now that’s really easy, isn’t it? Well, actually no. As soon as whose idea of possible? Yours? The boss’s? And does ‘want’ imply a wish or a need? And ‘done’ is open to all sorts of interpretation.

I know I’m being picky and pedantic but I’m illustrating a point here. You know you have a team and you have to manage it. You know you have budgets and figures and targets and they all have to be met. You know you have a forward-looking strategy and you would like to implement that. You know you have a contract and a job description.

But what ...