Business Tools Blog

My friend lamented as she drove home from work today.

“What’s wrong with this picture?”  she asked.

• Inefficiency
• Confusion
• Lack of accountability

My friend works in IT, at a large company.  When things aren’t going right, they reorganize.  Fresh faces are assigned to the same projects.  It’s not surprising that this company isn’t agile.  It’s not surprising that the rank and file are frustrated.  It’s not surprising that the best talent is looking for a job.

This reminded me of a management parable:

The New Manager and the 4 Envelopes

The new IT manager walks into his office and, while settling into his new desk, finds 4 envelopes. On one he finds the words “open me first,” and the other three are numbered 1 to 3.

He opens the first envelope and finds a letter from his predecessor saying: “These 3 envelopes will save you a world of trouble. In case of emergency, please open these envelopes in sequential order; envelope #1 first, envelope #2 second, and envelope #3 third.”

The manager shrugs, puts the envelopes back, and forgets about them.

Six months later, an IT project fails.  The new order entry system isn’t working like it was supposed to.   The  Vice President of Sales is outraged.  He blames IT and the clunky systems for a terrible sales month.  The IT manager doesn’t know what to do.

After a long sleepless night, the IT manager remembers the 3 envelopes.  He opens the envelope labeled #1, it says: “Blame your predecessor“. Wonderful idea he thinks, and indeed it works.  The next month’s sales are up, even without the new system.  His developers heard the feedback and are working around the clock to revise code.  His job is saved, and everybody’s happy.

A few months later, when the new order entry system is released, things go terribly wrong.  The sales group is still unhappy.  The VP is back with a vengeance.  He had forecasted a great sales month, but because of the wasted time testing another “worthless system”, he blames IT for sales being down.

The IT manager heads for his office and opens the envelope labeled #2.  It reads, “Reorganize“.

It works like a charm.  Everyone could see that the old organization wasn’t working.  Clearly reorganizing was the best answer.  The IT manager pats himself on the back for his brilliance.

3 months later, the release of the new order entry system is declared unsuccessful for the third time.  The IT manager is really in the hot seat this time.  As far as anyone can see, no progress has been made in the past 12 months.  Sales are down.  And, really, how hard is it to build an order entry system?

The IT manager sprints back to his office and tears open the last envelope. It reads,

“Prepare 4 new envelopes”