November 28, 2008

Management: One Thing More Than Any Other


"Quiet minds cannot be perplexed or frightened, but go on in fortune or misfortune at their own private pace, like a clock during a thunderstorm."

Robert Louis Stevenson

Were I to pick one trait I value most in a manager it is the ability to stay calm during times of upheaval.

Few great leaders lose control for long if at all. They are as Stevenson said, "like a clock during a thunderstorm", able to function while others around them cannot.


What about you? What is the one managerial trait at the top of your list?

3 comments :

  1. You're probably right about the importance of the need to stay calm. If you don't do that all the other important managerial traits will be compromised.

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  2. It depends on how "quiet" is the mind. Michael's mind (NBC's The Office) is about as quiet as they come. Is that what we're talking about?

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  3. That's not the "quiet" I had in mind but now that you mention it, you're talking about my favorite TV show.

    This blog is about business and any of you interested enough in this topic to read these posts should also take a look at The Office (NBC Thursday nights, also in reruns.)

    A parody of business reality but based on the way things really are in the same way that Dilbert parodies business in a cartoon strip.

    You will recognize the roles the actors play because you either are one of them and/or you work with people who are.

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