The Bogus Quest for Productivity
I've been falling behind on my Harvard Business Review reading, in recent months, but I finally made some time to catch up on the July/August issue, and came across an awesome opinion article entitled, "Productivity Is Killing American Enterprise" by Henry Mintzberg.
You can find the article here, or an extended version of it on Henry Mintzberg's website, in PDF format. It is a very interesting read, especially the extended version. The following excerpt gives you a clear view of what it addresses:
Many of the claimed productivity gains in recent years have amounted to productivity losses. To appreciate this, imagine what would happen if you fired everyone in your company and shipped from stock: Working hours would disappear while output would continue. That would be extremely productive, and you’d make a lot of money in the bargain. Until, of course, you ran out of stock.
There are too many companies where this is true, and as a result, there is a huge disconnect between the folks at the top, and basically everyone else (customers, employees, clients, and maybe even business partners). I have long complained that some of the metrics being used by companies to determine worker effectiveness make absolutely no attempt to account for the intangibles that employees bring to the table, or even ensure that a reasonable workload can be maintained when people are on vacation (or that they can actually not work while on vacation).
Instead of technology being used to improve effectiveness and provide more time for quality of life, technology is used to drive more productivity (if I deploy this tool/application/solution, I can reduce this headcount). Ultimately, this approach is going to hurt us all. We can only hope that we are able to turn it around soon, before we end up as suggested in his longer article...
About Logik!
Andrew S. Baker aka ASB aka Logik!
Andrew S. Baker is a business-savvy, hands-on IT leader with expertise in mentoring people, mitigating risk, and integrating technology to drive innovation and maximize business results. He creates competitive advantage for organizations through effective IT leadership: implementation of processes and controls, and architecture of robust business solutions.
Mr. Baker has successfully led a number of high-performance technology teams in designing, deploying and maintaining secure, cost-effective computing environments for well-known companies, including Warner Music Group, The Princeton Review, Bear Stearns, About.com, and Lewco Securities.
For over a decade, Andrew has exhibited thought leadership on technology and business topics via mailing lists, technical forums, blogs, and professional networking groups, along with contributions to podcasts, webinars, and over 20 technical/business magazine articles. He also serves on several boards and committees for non-profit organizations, and within the Seventh-day Adventist church.
His personal interests include Astronomy, Basketball, Bible Study, Chess, Comics, Computers,
Family Life Ministries, Reading, Strategy/Role Playing games, and Professional Networking...
A summary of Andrew's current résumé is available here, and he can be reached on a variety of social and professional networks, including LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter.