PERSPECTIVE FROM THE 19^TH HOLE: This is the title I chose for my personal blog, which is meant to give me an outlet for one of my favorite crafts – writing – plus to use an image from my favorite sport, golf. Out of college, my first job was as a reporter for the Daily Astorian in Astoria, Oregon, and I went on from there to practice writing in all of my professional positions, including as press secretary in Washington, D.C. for a Democrat Congressman from Oregon, as an Oregon state government manager in Salem and Portland, as press secretary for Oregon’s last Republican governor (Vic Atiyeh), and as a private sector lobbyist. This blog also allows me to link another favorite pastime – politics and the art of developing public policy – to what I write.

It may be folly for me to presume to write about “my management principles,” especially because I have a friend who is a management consultant and, therefore, knows more about management than I ever will.

Will that stop me?

No.

I will just go forward and see what happens, including my friend’s sage reactions.

I used to be a high-level manager in state agencies and then I went on to manage lobbying and public relations services in a firm I helped to found in 1990, CFM Strategic Communications.

With that context, I have been thinking lately about the some of the management principles I followed in the past and would follow now if I was ever to be in management again – though let me add that I prefer retirement.

Here are the titles of my management principles – and note that, on several occasions I relate them to golf, though they also could apply more generally.

• Panorama management, not snapshot management
• Funnel management
• Always do what you think is right
• Start with a strategy, the move to tactics
• On a daily basis, thank those who work hard with and for you

PANORAMA MANAGEMENT: To avoid snapshot management, take many snapshots to end up with a panorama in order to make management decisions based on a full picture.

One snapshot is silly. A panorama is smart.

Let me provide an example to illustrate my point – and it is about golf. One of the members at the club where I belong expressed his concern to me several years ago that the golf pro was not out on the first tee to welcome him and other players as they began their round.

What this individual was doing was taking a snapshot and generalizing from there. From all he knew, the pro was on the tee earlier or later that morning to welcome players, just not on the tee when it was this friend’s turn to play.

FUNNEL MANAGEMENT: This is a tactic I used to try to reach a decision when a number of factors were involved in the context of that decision. To further the analogy, I put all of the factors in a funnel in order to see what emerged at the end.

Another example from golf. At the club where I belong, there have been concerns lately about how many outside groups are given permission to play the course when, the belief is, it should be reserved for paying members.

In my funnel, here is how would consider the issue:

• Do the outside groups pay their way, thus contributing to a balanced at the private club?
• Are events stacked on top of each other, which would aggravate members who might tolerate one closure once in awhile, but not stacked closures?
• Are outside events part of what could be considered to be private club’s responsibility to the community where it operates, including to specific charities which might need community support?
• What should the balance be between, (a) competitive opportunities for better players at my club, and (b) availability of the course for paying members who don’t want higher-level competition?

If I used this funnel, I would see what emerged. But, what’s important here from a management perspective is to make sure that you consider all factors, not just the ones you like.

ALWAYS DO WHAT YOU THINK IS RIGHT, NO MATTER THE CONSEQUENCES: Yet, don’t assume automatically that you are right; behave in a way that illustrates you understand the complexity of decisions you make and the need to test your views against others before making final decisions.

Still, maintain your intent is to do what you think is right. With that commitment, you won’t lose sleep at night.

START WITH STRATEGIES BEFORE MOVING TO TACTICS: Another of my hot-buttons in management is to make sure you and your organization have overarching strategies, not just tactics.

Then, design tactics designed to promote the strategy.

If you start first with tactics, you won’t know for sure that the tactics you choose will serve the strategies. You may just be engaging in tactics for their own sake.

For me, strategy always precedes tactics.

And, I suppose, that’s one reason that the firm I helped to found was called CFM Strategic Communications.

ON A DAILY BASIS, THANK THOSE WHO WORK HARD WITH AND FOR YOU: Expressing gratitude is an often-lost art in much of today’s management.

Thanking employees for their hard work and, when possible, rewarding them for that work is critical. In CFM Strategic Communications, we started with and continued with a commitment to share profits with employees, not just hold all of the profits for owners.

Another example. One of the best managers I worked for during my days in Oregon State government told me he tried to thank someone for their work every day, often in writing. It was a lesson I learned and took to heart.

The point is that, when something good happens in management, it is not due to one person. It is due to a team. So recognize that.

So, my management consultant friend, what did a misstate or omit?