1. Management 3.0
Posted by Terrence Seamon, April 1, 2012
Netherlands-based writer and Agile thought leader Jurgen Appelo authored a book called Management
3.0. You can check it out here. Jurgen is doing his best to “change the world” and push organizations
into the new age of wise management.
Let’s look at this new age that is dawning. First a look at the two waves that came before:
Management 1.0 was the era of Frederick Taylor. An industrial engineer, Taylor’s approach to the
workplace was to find the most efficient way to do a task. Find it, study it, train it, and supervise it. That
was the key to production. Taylor’s most positive contribution was to bring a scientific method (i.e. study,
learn, spread) to the workplace.
Management 2.0 was the era of Quality Circles. Flowing from the great gurus of Quality, especially
Edward Deming, the approach to the workplace was to foster teams at the lowest practical level. Form
factory floor improvement teams, train them to look for problems, gather data, and develop solutions that
would increase production. The most positive contribution of this era, the notion of the problem solving
team, signalled the beginning of the concepts of empowerment, coaching, and self-management.
Then came the dawning of the present era, Management 3.0. Building on the strengths of both of the
earlier paradigms, M3.0 recognizes that “You are only as good as your people” (uttered by the late great
Ray Kroc of McDonald’s fame). The greatest service companies –companies like Marriott and
Southwest Air– understood that, to build your business, you must build (i.e., trust, support, develop and
serve) your people.
M3.0 puts the spotlight on the worker, recognizing that every employee is a volunteer, free to choose
how much effort to give each day. The concepts of free agency and self-initiative take the center.
The organizational strategy of M3.0 emphasizes ownership, empowerment, engagement, and leadership
at all levels. A great example of M3.0 in action is the company called SEMCO, developed by Ricardo
Semler, author of Maverick.
Each era of management answered the questions, What are managers for? And, What do people want
from their managers?
M1.0 said, Managers are for control. People want to be well supervised, treated and paid fairly for their
work.
M2.0 said, Managers are coaches. People want to produce a quality product by solving operating
problems.
M3.0 says, Managers are servant leaders who develop self-sustaining workers. People want to be
heard, respected, supported, developed, recognized, rewarded, honored, and trusted.
People are the key to the success of your business. Put all three answers together and you have a
winning combination for turning your workforce into an engine of success.
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