The Darkside of Productivity Monitoring
Mark Rapier CMAS, ALC
Trusted Guide | Author | Lifelong Learner | Corporate Diplomat | Certified M&A Specialist | Certified Life Coach
Today’s second topic talks about a Marshall Plan for the 21st?Century.?
Word Count: About 550, approximate reading time 3 to 4 minutes.?Please share your thoughts in the comments.?Please be kind and subscribe to my newsletter.
Since Frederick Taylor published The Principles of Scientific Management in 1911, management has been fascinated with productivity management.?The result has been an ongoing effort to improve business process execution.?In the mid-1980s, Bill Wilson introduced Six Sigma at Motorola.?The goal was to identify and remove errors from processes through statistical analysis.?This captured corporate imagination in the 1990s, with one of its biggest proponents being Jack Welch at GE.?(At one time, I held a Six Sigma Green Belt.)
In the pandemic era, the scientific management idea has taken on a new form – keyboard activity monitors.?These tools give managers the ability to track keystrokes and mouse clicks.?Satya Nadella calls this “productivity paranoia.”?Axios reports that research shows that this activity has the opposite effect; it reduces productivity.?Monitoring increases stress and absenteeism.?Even more troubling is the trend of people buying mouse jigglers to game the system.?It encourages people to be dishonest with their employers.?Ultimately this attitude will affect everything your workers do.?
Employee tracking software is a terrible, horrible, no good, really bad idea.?If you use these tools, you are sending a clear message that you do not trust your team.?When they believe you don’t trust them, they will not trust you.?Once you lose trust, you set the stage for lower productivity and high turnover.?
You are not a leader if you manage your team with tracking software.?You are a manager and probably a poor one.?Leaders inspire their teams to rally to a common cause.?They do what is necessary because they believe it is best for everyone – the company, customers, coworkers, and themselves.??
Can the Marshall Plan Work in the 21st Century?
In June 1947, US Secretary George C. Marshall proposed the European Recovery Plan.?It was an ambitious plan to rebuild Europe after World War II.?What made this plan different was that plan was intended to rebuild our allies and our enemies.?The Marshall Plan led to the rapid rebuilding of western Europe and likely prevented millions of deaths from starvation in the immediate aftermath of the war.?
The German Marshall Fund, a US based think tank, is proposing a Marshall Plan for Ukraine to help that county rebuild after the Russian conflict is over.?This is intriguing for many reasons.?Helping Ukraine repair the damage incurred during the Russian invasion, it may be possible to keep a post-war Ukraine from slipping into economic catastrophe.?Those conditions create opportunities for corruption and dictators to gain the upper hand.?There is an opportunity to support and strengthen democracy in a part of the world that has not known freedom for a very long.?It is an intriguing idea that could have far-reaching impacts.?What would have been the outcome if there had been a Marshall Plan for Iraq or Afghanistan?
The Marshall Plan gave hope to Europe after World War II.?Perhaps the model could be used to provide a hopeful future for others.
What I’m Up To
My wife and I celebrated our 34th anniversary with a trip to New Braunfels, Texas.?It is one of our favorite places to visit.?My parents lived there for many years; it is a second home.?We listened to country music at Gruene Hall, built in 1878, the oldest continuously operating dance hall in Texas.?We attended the Texas vs. West Virginia football game.?The weather was perfect, and the food was great.
Chips and Salsa: Snack-sized news and posts.
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Quotes
“If you see someone without a smile, give them one of yours.”
-????????Dolly Parton
“Trust is fundamental, reciprocal and, ideally, pervasive. ?If it is present, anything is possible. ?If it is absent, nothing is possible.”
-????????George Schultz
The Leader With A Thousand Faces is available on Amazon.
My goal is to make this newsletter as interesting and valuable as possible.?Please share your thoughts and suggestions for improvement.?If there are specific topics in leadership you would like me to focus on in future issues, please send them my way.