Have You Ever Seen... The Balloonist?
The following is from an e-mail that has been circulating through the
internet for some time. I don’t know who should be given credit
for authoring this, except for the name “W. Bobb” seen at the bottom of
this version. Here it is:
Subject: management
>
> The Balloonist
>
> A man in a hot air balloon realized he was lost. He
reduced altitude and
> spotted a woman below. He descended a bit more and
shouted, "Excuse me,
> can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an
hour ago, but I
> don't know where I am."
>
> The woman below replied, "You are in a hot air balloon
hovering
> approximately 30 feet above the ground. You are between 40
and 41 degrees
> north latitude and between 59 and 60 degrees west
longitude."
>
> "You must be an engineer," said the balloonist. "I am,"
replied the
> woman, "How did you know?"
>
> "Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me
is,
> technically correct, but I have no idea what to make of
your information,
> and the fact is I am still lost. Frankly, you've not been
much help so far."
>
> The woman below responded, "You must be in Management." "I
am," replied
> the balloonist, "but how did you know?"
>
> "Well," said the woman, "you don't know where you are or
where you are
> going. You have risen to where you are due to a large
quantity of hot air.
> You made a promise which you have no idea how to keep, and
you expect
> people beneath you to solve your problems. The fact is you
are in exactly
> the same position you were in before we met, but now,
somehow, it's my
> fault!"
>
>--- W. Bobb
Have you ever seen…..
...the tension that can arise between technical departments and upper
level managers who are not themselves knowledgeable in the specialties
they manage?
...staff leveling the playing field by demeaning whatever achievements
led to the managers reaching a higher level in the organization?
...managers who really did get to the top by flattery, brown-nosing, or
talking their way out of things?
...technical specialists who have no idea of how they or their knowledge
should best fit into the organization?
...sewage flow downhill?
And of course, there’s the matter of the male manager who is lost, and
expecting the female on the ground to lead him. There are at least
a dozen more articles to be written on that issue alone.
HAVE YOU EVER SEEN ANY OF THE ABOVE?
· IF
SO, WHICH DO YOU BELIEVE HAVE THE GREATEST IMPACT ON AN ORGANIZATION?
· HOW
ABOUT NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATIONS IN PARTICULAR? AND,
· WHICH
OF THESE ISSUES DO YOU BELIEVE WE CAN REALISTICALLY EXPECT TO IMPROVE IN
THE NEAR TERM (in an organization of any significant size)?
· AND
OF COURSE, HOW?