Has Management 2.0 gone into a tailspin?
Posted by Bernie Ritchie on Jul 16, 2009

The dawning of this post-crisis world sees Management at some kind of crunch point. The global economy is only just beginning to shake itself out from its worst crisis in living memory. The most fragile of recoveries is expected in the short term. Although this doesn't prevent Masters of the Universe of the Banking World being reborn at an unusually rapid rate.

Economists [not forgetting the venerable reputation of economics is also now in tatters] believe any current signs of early recovery are simply a function of the unprecedented levels of global fiscal and monetary stimulus. We look to be still many years off a strong and fully sustainable private-sector driven recovery. And the venerable reputation of economics is suddenly in tatters. Even when recovery finally arrives, it will bring a fundamental rebalancing of today’s global economy which will most likely be led by China and India.  

So, what kind of shape is Management in and how is it going to gear up to face the post-crisis challenges of 2010 and beyond. Right now it looks in fairly poor shape and shows all the signs of suffering the management equivalent of swine flu.

Even if Management is in such a tailspin, is that such a bad thing anyway?! Change is almost always good and it is certainly clear that some relatively radical movements for change in the world of Management are bubbling under its surface.

We are now hearing much talk about MBA programmes requiring total overhaul and reinvention to reflect the radically changed business landscape. Harvard Business Review has devoted its latest double issue to ‘Managing in the New World’ (and the preceding edition to the notion of ‘Rebuilding Trust’ in business).  We have seen the recent emergence of many new business leaders across the world – as well as the demise of several old chestnuts - as old-economy business behemoths amalgamate, various industry sectors implode and old ways of leadership are outmoded. We cannot ignore the constant buzz in the media about innovation being one of the few ways to seize competitive advantage or about savvy entrepreneurship representing the best sure bet for long-term job security. Nor can we ignore the pressing requirement for improvisational leadership in this rough spell of business uncertainty. Today, these constant twists and turns seem to be the only certainty and having the skills to adapt to new normalcies as well as ride the storm is critical to success in the post-crisis world.  

Added to this, there is the steady forward march of the social media revolution, the power of self-appointed ‘Business Tribes’ and the rise of such trends as crowdsourcing. All three simply adding to the unpredictability of the newly-forming business landscape.  Not to mention the ever-increasing pace and intensity of the global climate change crisis and the red alerts as well as real ‘green job’ opportunities it presents for businesses.

What hope is there for Management 2.0 going forward? Can it gear itself out of its current tailspin? Will it just crash and burn?  Or, will it rise to the occasion, shed its old skin, show bold reinvention and adaptive leadership and thrive anew in a changing and challenging world. My bets are on the latter, but it will mean honing fresh ways of managing under new uncertainties and learning from the lessons of the crisis just past. But as the old saying goes, necessity is the mother of invention!

What do you think?

Posted by Robert Craven on Jul 23, 2009
We will survive. Students of economic history have seen it all before and will cite 33 boom/crashes since the middle of the 19th Century. These academics are just placing their bets on when the current crisis will finish and the next one will begin. Robert

Posted by Bernie Ritchie on Jul 24, 2009
Thanks Robert. Great point! Also, take a look at an interesting article from Malcolm Gladwell in today's New Yorker[link in my Management Sushi Twitter feed. It looks at the roots of the Wall Street crisis being due more to the psychology of overconfidence than any structural or cognitive reason. Intriguing!

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