Publications

Journal Article

The very phrase "Middle Manager" evokes mediocrity: a person who stubbornly defends the status quo because he's too unimaginative to dream up anything better - or, worse, someone who sabotages other's attempts to change the organization for the better.

The popular press and a couple generations' worth of change-management consultants have reinforced this stereotype. Introducing a major change initiative? Watch out for the middle managers - that's where you'll find the most resistance. Reengineering your business processes, start by sweeping out the middle managers - they're just intermediaries; they don't add value.

Until very recently, anyone who spent time reading about management practices, as opposed to watching real managers are doomed to extinction or should be.