Your management map

Every idea on the site, in 15 areas. Tap any of them to read its page. Ideas you meet in the games light up.

Lit 0 / 274

1Management Fundamentals0 / 18

What does a manager actually manage?

1Five Functions of ManagementManaging is a craft of its own, beside the work itself; Fayol named five parts of it.2Unity of CommandEveryone should know whose order wins before the moment there is no time to ask.3Fayol's Bridge (Gangplank)Peers across branches can deal directly, if both bosses allow it and hear what was agreed.4Ten Managerial RolesA manager changes hats all day, and the hats only work as a set.5Informational RolesA manager is the team's information hub, and a hub knows only what reaches it.6Fragmentation of Managerial WorkA manager's day comes in short pieces, and the manager often does the chopping.7Scientific ManagementTime the work instead of guessing at it, and a better method often shows up.8Separation of Planning and DoingOne group decides how the work is done; another does it as written.9Hawthorne EffectBeing watched can change what people do, but less reliably than the famous story says.10What Is Our Business?Your business is what the customer thinks they are buying, not what you make.11To Create a CustomerIn Drucker's view, a business exists to create customers; profit is the test, not the aim.12Knowledge WorkerWork done in the head can't be run by watching. Start by asking what the task is.13Efficiency vs. EffectivenessDoing the work right counts for little if it isn't the right work.14A Manager's OutputYour output as a manager is what your team, and the teams you influence, produce.15Managerial LeverageA manager's hour can shape hundreds of other people's hours, for better or worse.16From Individual Contributor to ManagerThe skills that got you promoted are not the job you were promoted into.17The Leadership PipelineEach step up changes which work counts as yours, and what you have to let go.18The First 90 DaysRead the new situation before you reach for the playbook that got you hired.

2Self-Management0 / 18

Before you manage others, how do you manage yourself?

1Know Thy TimeMemory reports where your time should have gone. Only a record shows where it went.2Focus on ContributionEffort is what you put in. Contribution is what the people relying on you get out.3Make Strengths ProductiveHire for what someone does uncommonly well, then make their weak spots matter less.4First Things FirstDo the most important thing first, one thing at a time, and decide what you won't do.6Circle of Influence vs. Circle of ConcernSpend your effort on what you can reach, not on everything you worry about.7Begin with the End in MindBefore you start, decide what finished looks like, then plan back from it.8Parkinson's LawGive a job a week, and a week is often what it takes.9Hofstadter's LawIt takes longer than you expect, even after you've allowed for that.10Pareto Principle (80/20 Rule)A few causes often make most of the trouble. Count before you fix.11Next ActionA to-do you can't picture doing tends to wait. Write down the next visible step instead.12Two-Minute RuleWhen clearing an inbox, a step under two minutes is usually cheaper to do than to track.13Deep WorkFree hours aren't deep work until you spend them on something hard, undistracted.14Attention ResidueSwitch tasks before you've let go of the last one, and part of your mind stays behind.15Maker's Schedule, Manager's ScheduleOne meeting in the middle of an afternoon can cost a maker the whole afternoon.16Growth MindsetBelieve ability can grow, and a hard problem looks like practice instead of a verdict.17Implementation IntentionsTie an action to a moment you name in advance, and you're more likely to start it.18Energy ManagementWhen you can't add hours, what you can still manage is the energy you bring to them.

3Goals & Metrics0 / 20

What do you really want, and how will you know you got it?

1Management by Objectives (MBO)Manage people by the results you agree on, not by watching how they work.2Self-Control through MeasurementGive people a goal and their own numbers in time to act, and they can steer themselves.3Goal CascadingSplit a big goal level by level, until each person holds a piece they can move.4SMART GoalsA good goal tells you when you're done. It can't tell you whether it was worth doing.5Specific, Difficult Goals"Do your best" lets people define best. A specific, hard target usually gets more.6Goals Gone WildFix hard on one goal, and the costs outside it can go unnoticed.7Objectives and Key Results (OKR)One sentence for where you're going, plus a few numbers that answer yes or no.8Key ResultsIf you can't say which number would prove it, it isn't a key result yet.9Committed vs. Aspirational OKRsBefore setting a goal you may miss, say how a miss will count. It isn't a promise.10Balanced ScorecardJudging a company by its financial results alone is like driving by the rearview mirror.11Strategy MapDraw the chain from today's work to tomorrow's results, then check each link.12Leading vs. Lagging IndicatorsBy the time the result comes in, it's too late to change it. Watch what moves first.13North Star MetricPick one number for the value people get, and you've also picked what you'll give up.14Vanity MetricsA number that makes you feel good isn't necessarily one that tells you what to do next.15Paired IndicatorsEvery number you push on needs a partner that shows what the pushing costs.16Goodhart's LawYou get what you reward, just not the thing you wanted.17Campbell's LawThe more decisions ride on a number, the more it bends the work it was meant to watch.18Cobra EffectPay for proof that a problem is gone, and you may end up paying people to breed it.19On the Folly of Rewarding A, While Hoping for BPay for one thing while hoping for another, and the one you pay for tends to win.20McNamara FallacyWhat's easy to count can quietly stand in for what actually matters.

4Decision-Making0 / 25

How do you decide well when you don't have all the facts?

1Bounded RationalityNobody can weigh every option, so we decide with the pieces we can see and measure.2SatisficingDecide what good enough means, take the first option that clears it, and stop looking.3Poverty of AttentionInformation uses up attention. The more of it arrives, the less each piece gets.4System 1 and System 2An answer can arrive on its own, fast. Checking it takes effort, and often never starts.5Anchoring EffectThe first number you hear can pull your estimate toward it, even one you know is random.6Framing EffectSay the same numbers a different way, and people often choose differently.7WYSIATI (What You See Is All There Is)We build a confident story from what's in front of us and rarely ask what's missing.8Planning FallacyWe forecast from our own plan and forget what happened to everyone else who tried.9Outside View (Reference Class Forecasting)Before trusting your plan, check how similar projects actually turned out.10Confirmation BiasOnce you believe something, you tend to look for the evidence that agrees with it.11Sunk Cost FallacyMoney spent that you can't get back is gone either way. Let what comes next decide.12NoiseSame case, different expert, different answer, often by far more than anyone guessed.13Decision HygieneForm your view alone, from the evidence, before you see anyone else's answer.14Generic vs. Exceptional ProblemsBefore you fix a problem, ask whether it's a one-off or a case of a wider problem.15Decisions Require DissentWhen nobody in the room disagrees, you haven't seen the alternatives yet.16One-Way vs. Two-Way DoorsMove fast through doors you can walk back through. Slow down at the ones you can't.17Pre-mortemTell people the plan already failed, and they'll tell you why.18Disagree and CommitArgue hard before the decision. Once it's made, carry it out as if it were your own.19OODA LoopObserve, orient, decide, act, faster than rivals. How you read things steers all four.20ResultingA good result doesn't prove a good decision, and a bad result doesn't prove a bad one.21Cynefin FrameworkBefore you pick how to decide, work out what kind of problem you're facing.22Probe-Sense-RespondWhen cause and effect can't be seen ahead, run small, cheap tries and grow what works.23GroupthinkWhen agreement matters more than being right, a group stops hearing its own doubts.24Abilene ParadoxEveryone goes along with a plan nobody wants, because each thinks the others want it.25Devil's AdvocateAppoint someone to argue against the plan, then let the argument change something.

5Strategy & Innovation0 / 22

Where can you win, what lets you win, and how do you avoid being disrupted?

1Porter's Five ForcesBefore asking how well a company is run, look at the five forces squeezing its industry.2Generic Competitive StrategiesWin on lower cost, on value others don't offer, or by focusing on one slice of the market.3Operational Effectiveness Is Not StrategyDoing what rivals do, only better, is necessary but rarely lasts. They catch up.4Strategy Is About Trade-offsThe hard part of strategy is choosing what not to do.5The Kernel of StrategyA strategy names what's wrong, picks a way through, and lines up actions that fit.6Bad StrategyA goal, a slogan or a wish list can pass for a strategy. None of them chooses anything.7Blue Ocean vs. Red OceanInstead of fighting rivals for the same buyers, look for the people the industry left out.8Four Actions Framework (ERRC)Decide what to drop, what to cut back, what to raise and what to add, all on one page.9SWOT AnalysisA SWOT sorts the good, bad, promising and risky. If no choice follows, it's just a list.10BCG Growth-Share MatrixGrowth and share show where cash comes from and where it goes. A label isn't a verdict.11Core CompetenceYour strength is the skill under your products, not the products themselves.12Level 5 LeadershipHumble about themselves, relentless for the company. Collins's portrait of a great CEO.13First Who, Then WhatChoose the people before the plan. The right ones can fix a weak plan.14Stockdale ParadoxKeep faith in the ending, and face today's facts without promising yourself a date.15Hedgehog ConceptFind what you can be best at, what pays, and what you care about. Then stop the rest.16The FlywheelNo single push turns the wheel. Each turn makes the next one a little easier.17The Innovator's DilemmaWell-run companies can lose by doing exactly what their best customers ask.18Disruptive InnovationA product worse for your customers may start with people you ignore, then win yours away.19Jobs to Be DonePeople hire a product to get a job done, and the job may not be the one the maker thinks.20Minimum Viable Product (MVP)Build the smallest real thing that can teach you something, and put it in real hands.21Build-Measure-Learn LoopBuild a little, measure what people actually do, and let it change your next move.22Exploration vs. ExploitationGetting better at what already works can crowd out the search for what works next.

6Organization Design & Governance0 / 21

Who does what, who reports to whom, and who gets to decide?

1Division of LaborSplit work into small steps and output can soar. So can the boredom.2BureaucracyWrite the rules down so the work doesn't depend on who happens to be doing it.3Span of ControlOne boss can lead four people or thirty. It depends on how much they need each other.4Centralization vs. DecentralizationDecide which calls stay at the top and which belong to the people closest to the work.5Five Basic Parts of the OrganizationAn organization can be drawn as five parts. The biggest part says a lot about how it runs.6Coordinating MechanismsWork gets fitted together a few ways. People talk, someone directs, or a standard decides.7Functional, Divisional and Matrix StructuresGroup people by skill or by product. Either way, some work falls across the seam.8Star ModelA new org chart alone changes little. Strategy, process, pay and people have to move too.9Two-Pizza TeamBezos's rule of thumb: if two pizzas can't feed a team, it's too big.10Dunbar's NumberDunbar estimates we can keep up about 150 real relationships. Critics dispute it.11Conway's LawWhat a team builds tends to copy the way the team talks to itself.12Inverse Conway ManeuverIf systems copy the teams that build them, arrange the teams the way you want the system.13Four Fundamental Team TypesMost teams should own a flow of work end to end. A few exist to make those teams faster.14Team Cognitive LoadA team can keep only so much in mind. Pile on more, and mistakes and delays tend to rise.15Three Team Interaction ModesTeams can build together, serve one another, or coach. Each suits different work.16RACI MatrixEvery piece of work needs one name beside it, and everyone needs to know whose it is.17Directly Responsible Individual (DRI)Every piece of work needs one named person who answers for it, with the authority to act.18Principal–Agent ProblemWhoever works for you has goals of their own, and you can't watch everything they do.19Separation of Ownership and ControlIn widely held companies, owners rarely run the firm, and managers rarely own much of it.20Segregation of Duties and the Four-Eyes PrincipleSeparate risky work from its approval and checks, so no one does and checks it alone.21Three Lines Model (Three Lines of Defense)Those doing the work own the risk, a separate team checks it, and auditors check both.

7Leadership & Delegation0 / 10

How do you get people to follow you, and trust them to run with it?

8Motivation0 / 15

Why do people work, and what makes them want to do it well?

1Maslow's Hierarchy of NeedsBread comes first only when there's no bread. Otherwise people want many things at once.2Two-Factor (Motivation-Hygiene) TheoryThe opposite of miserable at work isn't motivated. It's just not miserable.3Job EnrichmentTo make a job worth doing, give people more say over it, not more of it.4Theory X and Theory YRules built for people you don't trust can produce the very behavior that justifies them.5Self-Determination TheoryPay can make people do a task. Choice, skill and belonging make them want to.6Overjustification EffectPromise a prize for something people already enjoy, and they may come to enjoy it less.7Motivation Crowding OutPay people for what they did out of duty, and some of them may stop doing it.8Autonomy, Mastery and PurposeOnce pay feels fair, choice, growth and a reason can move people in ways a bonus doesn't.9Candle ProblemA prize can speed up an easy task and slow down one that needs a fresh idea.10Expectancy TheoryEffort follows three beliefs: I can do it, it will count, and the reward is worth having.11Equity TheoryPeople judge their pay by what others get for the same work, not by the pay alone.12Job Characteristics ModelWork often motivates when it's varied, whole, meaningful, yours to run and shows results.13The Progress PrincipleGood workdays tend to be the days when work that matters moved forward, even a little.14FlowAbsorption tends to come when a task is hard but doable and shows you how you're doing.15Pygmalion EffectWhat a boss expects of you leaks into how you're treated, and can show up in your results.

9Talent0 / 17

Whom do you hire, how do you judge people, and how do you help them grow?

1Structured InterviewAsk every candidate the same questions and score the answers on the same scale.2Work Sample TestTo find out whether someone can do the work, watch them do a small piece of it.3The Unstructured InterviewFeeling you got to know a candidate is not evidence that you did.4Job ScorecardBefore you meet candidates, write down what the job must deliver, and by when.5Bar RaiserGive a say in every hire to someone who won't have to live with the empty seat.6The Halo EffectOne overall impression can color every separate judgment, and you may not notice.7The Dunning-Kruger EffectPeople with less skill tend to overrate themselves; why is still argued over.8The Peter PrincipleYou get promoted for the job you did, not for the one you're about to do.970-20-10 ModelExecutives in one study credited hard jobs and bosses over classes. 70-20-10 is shorthand.10GROW Coaching ModelBefore you tell, ask what they want, what's happening, what could work, what they'll do.11Gallup Q12Twelve questions about your everyday work. Teams that score high tend to do better.12People Leave Managers, Not CompaniesPeople don't only quit managers. But a good one helps keep the people you'd hate to lose.13Talent DensityAdding people who need carrying can cost a team more than they add.14The Keeper TestIf they told you they were leaving, would you fight to keep them?15Lead with Context, Not ControlGive people the goal, the stakes and the limits, then let them make the call.16Forced Ranking (Vitality Curve)A forced curve makes managers name their weakest. It can also turn teammates into rivals.17Continuous Performance ConversationsA once-a-year verdict often comes after the work is done. Talk while it can still change.

10Communication & Feedback0 / 13

How do you say it clearly, get it through, and make people care?

11Teamwork0 / 16

How does a group of people become a team?

1Forming–Storming–Norming–PerformingWhen a new team starts fighting, ask whether anyone agreed how the work gets split.2The Five Dysfunctions of a TeamLencioni's bet: when a team stops delivering, the trouble started lower down, with trust.3Fear of ConflictA team that never argues may not agree. It may just be afraid to.4Inattention to ResultsEveryone's own numbers can look fine while the team loses.5Psychological SafetyNo reported mistakes doesn't mean no mistakes.6Project AristotleAt Google, how a team worked together mattered more than who was on it.7TeamingPeople who just met can still work as a team, if they share a playbook for roles and talk.8Spectrum of Reasons for FailureFailures come in different kinds, and blaming them all alike buries the lessons.9Five Enabling ConditionsYou can't make a team great. You can set up the conditions that make it more likely.1060-30-10 RuleBy Hackman's estimate, most of how a team does is settled before its work begins.11Ringelmann EffectAdd more hands to the rope and each one pulls a little less.12Bystander EffectThe more people who see it happen, the easier it is for each of them to wait.13Process LossA team delivers what its members could do, minus what gets lost working together.14Belbin Team RolesA team may need a mix of ways to contribute more than a room of the cleverest people.15Transactive Memory SystemA team can remember more than any one member, as long as everyone knows who knows what.16Shared Mental ModelsTeams coordinate better when everyone carries the same picture of the task and each other.

12Projects & Execution0 / 19

How do you get something done on time and done right?

1Critical Path MethodThe longest chain of steps that wait on each other sets the finish date. Watch that chain.2Work Breakdown Structure (WBS)Break a big job into pieces you can hand out, and check that nothing falls between them.3Iron Triangle (Triple Constraint)When time and money are tight, decide out loud which of time, cost or scope will give.4Brooks's LawAdding people to a late project usually makes it later.5The Surgical TeamOne person designs and writes the core; everyone else on the team supports them.6No Silver BulletTools can save the labor of writing code. They can't decide for you what to build.7Critical Chain Project ManagementGuard the longest chain of linked work, people included. Stop juggling; pool the slack.8Student SyndromeWhen a deadline feels far away, people start late and use up the safety margin first.9The Agile ManifestoPrefer working results and conversation to paperwork and fixed plans, but keep both.10SprintWork in short, fixed rounds, and end each one with something that works and can be shown.11Daily Stand-up (Daily Scrum)A short daily meeting to check progress toward the goal and plan the day of work ahead.12Sprint RetrospectiveAfter each round, the team looks back at how it worked and picks something to change.13Definition of DoneAgree in writing, up front, what must be true before a piece of work counts as finished.14TimeboxingFix the deadline, then decide what fits. When time runs short, cut scope, not the date.15Kanban BoardPut every piece of work, and the stage it has reached, where the whole team can see it.16WIP LimitsCap how many jobs are open at once, to stop work piling up and help each finish sooner.17Ninety-Ninety RuleThe last 10% of a project often takes as long as the first 90%.18Scope CreepWork gets added a little at a time, while the deadline and budget stay where they were.19Wildly Important Goal (WIG)Pick the one or two goals that matter most, and give them attention daily work won't.

13Operations & Quality0 / 22

How do you get it right every time, and a bit better each time?

1Theory of ConstraintsThe step with the least spare capacity sets the output. Speed up others and work piles up.2Five Focusing StepsFind the bottleneck, get the most from it, pace the rest to it, expand it, look again.3Local OptimaWhen every part chases its own best score, the whole can end up worse off.4JidokaWhen something goes wrong, the machine or the worker stops the line and calls for help.5Andon CordA problem is cheapest to fix the moment someone sees it, if they're allowed to say so.6Seven Wastes (Muda)Waiting, hauling, extra stock and rework cost money, and customers rarely gain from them.7Five WhysAsk why, answer each time from evidence, and don't treat the fifth answer as the end.8Kaizen (Continuous Improvement)Improve the work a little at a time, every day, with ideas from the people doing it.9Poka-Yoke (Mistake-Proofing)Design the work so a slip is blocked, or caught on the spot, before it becomes a defect.10Value Stream MappingDraw every step a piece of work goes through, and time the waiting as well as the work.11Little's LawIn a steady system, average time inside equals average work in it over the exit rate.12Small Batch SizesDo and release work in small pieces, so problems show up sooner and do less damage.13PDCA CyclePlan a small change, try it, study what happened, then decide. Then go round again.14Common vs. Special Cause VariationOrdinary wobble comes from the system. An unusual swing may have a cause of its own.15Red Bead ExperimentMany of the results we blame workers for come from the system they work in.16Funnel Experiment (Tampering)Adjusting a stable process after every ordinary wobble makes its results swing wider.17Cost of QualityA defect usually costs more the later it is found, and most once a customer finds it.18ChecklistEven a step you know by heart can get skipped on a busy day.19Swiss Cheese ModelAccidents usually need holes in several layers of defence to line up at once.20Normal Accident TheoryWhen parts interact in hidden ways and there's no slack, small failures can cascade.21Heinrich's LawHeinrich's estimate: for each serious injury, many smaller accidents of the same kind.22Blameless PostmortemBlame the person who slipped, and the next one is likelier to keep quiet.

14Culture & Change0 / 19

How do you change what a group of people does out of habit?

1Three Levels of CultureYou can copy what a culture looks like. What its people take for granted stays behind.2Primary Embedding MechanismsTeams learn what really counts from what leaders watch, react to and reward.3Learning Anxiety vs. Survival AnxietyPeople change when fear of standing still outweighs fear of learning. Shrink the second.4Pathological, Bureaucratic and Generative CulturesWhether bad news reaches the top often depends on what happens to those who carry it.5Hofstede's Cultural DimensionsOn average, people in different countries expect different things from a boss.68-Step Process for Leading ChangeIn Kotter's observation, change that skips stages tends to stall. The speed isn't real.7Establish a Sense of UrgencyBad news isn't urgency until people believe business as usual can't go on.8Generate Short-Term WinsWin a few visible battles early, or many people give up before the change pays off.9Unfreeze–Change–RefreezeChanges often slide back unless the old habit is loosened and the new one held in place.10Force Field AnalysisBehaviour settles where pushes and brakes balance. Easing a brake often beats more push.11ADKAR ModelADKAR splits change into five hurdles. Start with the first one a person missed.12Three Phases of TransitionBridges: change happens on a date. Transition happens inside, and starts with an ending.13Change CurveImposed change can bring a dip before people adapt, but there's no fixed script.14Diffusion of Innovations CurveNew things often spread slowly at first. Most people wait to see someone try it.15Crossing the ChasmEarly fans and the cautious majority buy for different reasons, so a gap can open.16Normalization of DevianceEach time a warning sign passes without disaster, the next one looks more normal.17Ethical FadingTreat a choice as a technical or business problem, and its moral side can fade from view.18Milgram Obedience ExperimentTold the work requires it, people sometimes go further than anyone expected.19Slippery-Slope EffectSome big wrongs arrive in small steps, each only a little past the last.

15The AI Era0 / 19

When you manage AI, which problems are genuinely new?

1Ironies of AutomationThe better the autopilot, the less ready you are when it lets go.2Automation BiasWhen a machine gives the answer, people tend to stop checking it.3Levels of AutomationAutomation isn't on or off. Decide how much the machine does for each part of the job.4DeskillingSkills you stop using fade, and a tool that does the work can quietly take them.5Human-in-the-LoopPut a person in front of the steps you can't undo, and make the machine wait for them.6Human-on-the-Loop (Supervisory Control)Let the machine act on its own while a person watches and can step in, if they truly can.7Moral Crumple ZoneWhen automation fails, the nearest person often takes the blame, even with little control.8Reward HackingScore an AI on a test, and it may learn to beat the test instead of doing the job.9Specification GamingA capable system can meet the exact words of a goal and still miss what you meant.10Negative Side EffectsChasing a goal can damage things the goal never mentioned. Say what must stay intact.11SycophancyAn AI trained on what people like learns to agree with them, even when they are wrong.12Scalable OversightWhen the worker knows more than you, build checks that still work, such as rival experts.13Orchestrator-WorkersA lead AI splits the job among helper AIs. How clearly it briefs them shapes the result.14Workflow vs. AgentFix the steps you can predict. Leave judgment only where the path can't be written down.15Evaluator-OptimizerOne drafts, another checks it against a clear standard, and it goes round until it passes.16Context EngineeringWhoever takes over, person or AI, needs the key facts from you. Pick and order them well.17Trust CalibrationTrust a tool as much as it has earned, for the specific job, and adjust when it changes.18Algorithm AversionPeople tend to drop a better formula after seeing it err, yet forgive humans the same.19Jagged Technological FrontierAI can be excellent at one task and poor at a similar one, with no warning which is which.
Next lesson: Eisenhower Matrix3 rounds + 1 card · about 2 minutes