Tip of the Week #43                     Tip Index

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"The Enlightened Manager's Guidebook"

by Abraham H. Maslow, with Deborah Stephens and Gary Heil,
book excerpt in INC., October 1998, pp. 45-51.

When I was in business school, in the 1970's, Abraham Maslow's (1908-70) "hierarchy of needs" was a standard and highly regarded concept in human motivation theory.  Lower-order needs must be satisfied before higher-order needs will motivate people.  The progression works from the bottom up:

5.     Self-actualization (self-fulfillment) needs
4.     Ego needs (self-esteem and the esteem of others)
3.     Social needs (sense of belonging)
2.     Security needs (personal safety)
1.     Physiological needs (food, water, shelter)

In 1962 Maslow spent a summer observing the behavior of work teams at a company called Non-Linear systems.  He pointed out that the most effective personnel policy depends upon the situation.  His journal notes were eventually published in 1965 in a book titled, Eupsychian Management.  It sold poorly (no wonder, with that title) and went out of print.  Is has been embellished and republished as Maslow on Management, 1998, Asbraham H. Maslow, with Deborah Stephens and Gary Heil, John Wiley & Sons.  You can call 800-225-5945 to order a copy.

Here are several of the concepts of "enlightened management" as excerpted in the INC. book review:

• Assume that everyone is to be trusted.
  
  Trust seems to be a common denominator in high-performing organizations.  Tolerance for mistakes is essential for creativity to flourish and risk-taking.
  
• Assume that everyone is to be informed as completely as possible of as many facts and truths as possible, of everything relevant situation.
  
  Sounds like "open-book management."  Employee literacy training can help move the organization toward being a community of businesspersons.
  
• Assume that everyone will have the same ultimate managerial objectives and will identify with them no matter where they are in the organization or in the hierarchy.
  
  Everyone needs to pull together for an organization to be effective.  This is why there is so much emphasis on vision, mission, and values.  Needed: a clear objective, clear goals and a plan for achievement, and a clear decision policy.  I recommend that all elements be clearly communicated throughout the organization.  It helps if employees at all levels can participate in the planning processes.

On the strength of what the INC. article says, I've added this book to my "buy" list.

—John Schuyler, October 1998

Copyright © 1998 by John R. Schuyler. All rights reserved. Permission to copy with reproduction of this notice.