Ouf, obviously Microsoft management never heard about creative climate. Simply using Göran Ekvall’s 10 dimensions of creative climate, we could debate the value of this short viewed management practice by simply asking: How might ‘stack ranking’ contribute to fostering challenge, freedom, trust and openness, playfulness & humor, idea support, idea time, debate, dynamism & liveliness and risk taking while reducing conflict? Ekvall’s dimensions have a proven record with respect to their ability to differentiate organizations capable of innovative breakthrough, from those capable of incremental improvement and those that are stagnant. Usually those capable of innovation breakthrough score very high on Freedom, Dynamism, Risk Taking and Debate. I can hardly imagine that these dimensions are striving where ‘stack ranking’ is implemented. Hard to imagine that a glory and innovative future can build on this.
In time of turmoil, fast pace of change, increased competition and complexity, one would think that not nurturing a creative climate could pave the way to a rapid decline of Microsoft. However, I observe so often that the application of such short-viewed management measures may not necessarily be the primary cause leading to a rapid decline – it could be a reaction to a rapid decline currently happening. Unfortunately, rather than the management measure being a way to slow the decline, it may instead accelerate it.
Any big corporations on stock markets are more likely to chose short-viewed approaches like this to address performance issues under the pressure of actions holders. Their strategies may work on the short term but very unlikely on the long run…
Thanks Marci for sharing it
]]>