A Class with Drucker - Headway | Work on yourself

172 ■ A CLASS WITH DRUCKER
He felt that top executives, or at least most top executives, should remain
in their jobs no more than six years. However, this had nothing to do <strong>with</strong>
incompetence.
Peter just felt that top management had to change periodically to
allow for upward mobility and new ideas and new corporate directions.
Moreover, this succession and its success was the responsibility of the top
executive himself and had to be planned for well ahead to ensure a smooth
transition. He may have got this notion from the organization we’re going
to look at in the next chapter.
<strong>Drucker</strong> Lesson Summary
The idea that managers rise to their level of incompetence is a dangerous
myth. If a manager isn’t performing, of course he needs to be relieved of
his or her duties. But to automatically fire a manager due to failure <strong>with</strong>
no further thought is, as Peter said, “human sacrifice” pure and simple.
There may be an equally challenging job available at which the manager
will be successful. Find something or put him in a holding position until
you do. Don’t waste individuals who have previously done well over long
periods of time due to one job failure. In any case, you can minimize
these problems by performing due diligence in the ways recommended,
that is:
■ Think through the requirements of the position and plan on
staffing for strength.
■ Have multiple qualified candidates before settling on one.
■ Share your intentions <strong>with</strong> colleagues before promoting.
Do this and you should have an excellent “batting average” of promoting
the right person into the right job. Once the right person is in the job,
it is still your responsibility to get the person off to the right start. Take
these actions and your organization is on the way to being top heavy <strong>with</strong>
the best and most qualified managers. In any case, if it’s your organization,
these are your responsibilities.