tight loose graphicTight or loose management – which way should firms respond when projects are not meeting their objectives? Should we clamp down to achieve better results? 

These are the wrong questions…old school questions.

Instead of a tight or loose?* we should be asking: Which aspects of our business require us to adhere to rules, and where do we need room to move within boundaries?

To begin this conversation, let’s think about the true nature of work today (along with how we need to respond):

  • Work is unpredictable (so we need to create a flexible way forward)
  • Work involves messy human relationships (so we must nurture cooperative interactions)
  • Work depends on discretionary effort (so it’s vital to understand what motivates people to do their best work)
  • There’s a yearning for meaningful work (so should define the firm’s purpose, as well as each project’s purpose beyond meeting schedule, budget and scope)

When we apply tight management to the wrong aspects of business, we stifle initiative and potential. Likewise, the misapplication of loose management results in wasted time and effort. “Loose” does not mean sloppy, haphazard and uncaring. In any case, striving for a uniformly tight mechanical system of management goes against human nature and leads to endless frustration.

Let the conversation begin! Which aspects of your business are tight-appropriate and in what ways do you need more room to move?

– Sharon VanderKaay

* I first encountered the concept of tight/loose management in Tom Peters’ and Robert H. Waterman Jr. 1982 book, In Search of Excellence – and yet we still wrestle with this issue.