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by
culled from:http://www.inc.com
VC Ben Horowitz explains why teams converge at the point of mediocrity and offers a prescription to fight this tendency.
No manager in the history of the world has said to herself, "Boy, I really want to promote mediocre people and create some Dilbert-style dysfunction
around here!" Yet anyone who has ever worked at a large company can
tell you that, despite the obvious attractions of high standards and
good sense, organizations somehow seem to inexorably fall into
stereotypical office absurdities as surely as the moon orbits the earth.
Why is that?
Top VC Ben Horowitz thinks he knows the answer. In his much recommended recent book The Hard Thing About Hard Things, Horowitz explicates "the Law of Crappy People," a gem of business wisdom unearthed by the consistently interesting blog Farnam Street recently.
"The Law of Crappy People states: For any title level in a large organization, the talent on that level will eventually converge to the crappiest person with the title," Horowitz explains. "The rationale behind the law is that the other employees in the company with lower titles will naturally benchmark themselves against the crappiest person at the next level. For example, if Jasper is the worst vice president in the company, then all of the directors will benchmark themselves against Jasper and demand promotions as soon as they reach his low level of competency."
Nope, there's no hitting or kicking involved (sorry if you had anyone particular in mind). Instead, ensure fair (and fist-free) combat among your team by starting "with an extremely crisp definition not only of the responsibilities at each level but also of the skill required to perform the duties. When describing the skills, avoid the generic characterizations such as 'must be competent at managing a P&L' or 'must have excellent management skills.' In fact, the best leveling tools get extremely specific and even name names: 'should be a superstar recruiter-- as good as Jenny Rogers.'"
Once these benchmarks for moving up are set, you'll need to set up a "promotions council" to review all promotions across the company. "When a manager wishes to promote an employee, she will submit that employee for review with an explanation of why she believes her employee satisfies the skill criteria required for the level. The committee should then compare the employee with both the level's skill description and the skills of the other employees at that level to determine whether to approve the promotion," writes Horowitz.
Have you witnessed "The Law of Crappy People" at work?
Why is that?
Top VC Ben Horowitz thinks he knows the answer. In his much recommended recent book The Hard Thing About Hard Things, Horowitz explicates "the Law of Crappy People," a gem of business wisdom unearthed by the consistently interesting blog Farnam Street recently.
"The Law of Crappy People states: For any title level in a large organization, the talent on that level will eventually converge to the crappiest person with the title," Horowitz explains. "The rationale behind the law is that the other employees in the company with lower titles will naturally benchmark themselves against the crappiest person at the next level. For example, if Jasper is the worst vice president in the company, then all of the directors will benchmark themselves against Jasper and demand promotions as soon as they reach his low level of competency."
A better kind of corporate combat.
If a light bulb of recognition went off in your head upon reading that, be comforted that Horowitz not only explains the phenomenon but also offers a solution to help businesses avoid it. Your promotion process should resemble the process by which students advance at a karate dojo.Nope, there's no hitting or kicking involved (sorry if you had anyone particular in mind). Instead, ensure fair (and fist-free) combat among your team by starting "with an extremely crisp definition not only of the responsibilities at each level but also of the skill required to perform the duties. When describing the skills, avoid the generic characterizations such as 'must be competent at managing a P&L' or 'must have excellent management skills.' In fact, the best leveling tools get extremely specific and even name names: 'should be a superstar recruiter-- as good as Jenny Rogers.'"
Once these benchmarks for moving up are set, you'll need to set up a "promotions council" to review all promotions across the company. "When a manager wishes to promote an employee, she will submit that employee for review with an explanation of why she believes her employee satisfies the skill criteria required for the level. The committee should then compare the employee with both the level's skill description and the skills of the other employees at that level to determine whether to approve the promotion," writes Horowitz.
Have you witnessed "The Law of Crappy People" at work?
no matter how your post is a management and you lack talent you are nothing but a crappy. By Okunlola Opeyemi Adeniyi
ReplyDeleteas a manager one must be competent and not crappy because he controls human and material resources
ReplyDeleteFANIRAN OLUWATOSIN ABIGAEL ND1 MKT GNS101
ReplyDeletewith an extremely crisp definition not only of the responsibilities at each level but also of the skill required to perform the duties.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteNAME: ALAYO SEGUN DARE
ReplyDeleteDEPARTMENT: MARKETING ND1 [DPP]
COURSE TITTLE: USE OF ENGLISH
ARTICLE: THE LAW OF CRAPPY PEOPLE
COMMENT:one must be competent and not be nasty because he controls human and material resources
NAME: OLOBELE YAYA KOLAWOLE
ReplyDeleteDEPARTMENT: MARKETING ND1 [DPP]
COURSE TITTLE: USE OF ENGLISH
ARTICLE: LAW OF CRAPPY PEOPLE
COMMENT:one must be competent because it controls human resources.
BABATUNDE OLAITAN ROFIYAT ND1 MKT.
ReplyDeleteas a manager you need to be competent for you to be able to at manage a firm or an organization.
ADERIBIGBE ADEWALE. ND1. MKT.
ReplyDeletewith an extremely crisp definition not only of the responsibilities at each level but also of the skill required to perform the duties.
OLAYIWOLA OYINDAMOLA SULIYAT. ND1 MKT.
ReplyDeleteas a manager you need to be competent for you to be able to at manage a firm or an organization.
ABDULGANIYU MONSURAT ABIDEMI.ND1.MKT
ReplyDeleteas a manager one must be competent and not crappy because he controls human and material resources
OGUNGBENI ESTHER OLUWAFUNMILAYO.ND1.MKT.
ReplyDeletewith an extremely crisp definition not only of the responsibilities at each level but also of the skill required to perform the duties.
SOTINWA ADELEKE. ND1 MKT.
ReplyDeletewith an extremely crisp definition not only of the responsibilities at each level but also of the skill required to perform the duties.
ADEKUNLE ABOSEDE SULIAT .ND1.MKT
ReplyDeletewith an extremely crisp definition not only of the responsibilities at each level but also of the skill required to perform the duties.
Olatunjoye oladimeji kehinde - in a competent and formidable organisation crapy people should not be allow because it can dense the goodwill of such an organisation. And this can also be solve through the personnel department of such company.
ReplyDeleteAdedoyin Quadri Adebare crappy people should not be allow and this is the work of human resource management in recruiting staff
ReplyDeleteIgnoring crappy people is the best method to keep them from affecting the success of business
ReplyDeleteIgnoring crappy people is the best method to keep them from affecting the success of business-AKANDE CHRISTIANA IBIYEMI
ReplyDelete