The SPIGOT model of management

Between process re-engineering, quality circles, organizational development, team-building, job enrichment, balanced scorecards, and many others, there must have been hundreds of management and leadership fads over the years. They all came with their early success stories, and most later fell out of favor as fashions changed or failures mounted; often, they came back with slightly different details and very different names.

The question is, what was at the root of the success of the companies that applied these tools and techniques, and what caused their failures in other companies?

Each tool or technique has certain requirements which, if they are filled, will bring success. When those requirements are not met, failure is likely. That’s true of any change effort, and experienced consultants can reel off the criteria for success quickly: visible, consistent leadership support that continues over time, lack of distraction by other, unrelated initiatives, changing supporting systems as needed (e.g. not giving bonuses for individual work while supposedly changing to teams), having a clear vision, convincing people of the need for change and the usefulness of this particular method, and reducing fear of change by making the end game look clear and be nonthreatening.  But there are other factors, as well.

In our experience, both direct and from reading many case histories from the 1960s to the present day, we believe we have determined the key issues, and they are SPIGOT — Systems, Power, Information, Goals, and Technology. (Yes, you can also call it PIGS.)

Social-Systems. Shared values, beliefs, and norms to bring people together in one cause. The same people working under different social systems or cultures - even in the same organization - can act in very different ways. Change the social system, and you change the way people act.

Power. Each system pushes power downwards, so people who do the work can make decisions. Some, like job enrichment and empowerment, made this almost the sole focus. Others, such as balanced scorecards and re-engineering, imply it or make it part of the process. Research shows that pushing power downwards in an organization to the lowest possible level greatly increases innovation, motivation, quality, and productivity. It also, paradoxically, increases the power of executives and managers, by freeing them from much of the day-to-day "fire fighting" and trivial decisions, and by providing them with a capable workforce than can carry out their strategic decisions.

Information. Again, each system relies on increased communication. It takes many forms, but in essence, communication is spreading information up and down the hierarchy, and across departments; sharing it with customers, suppliers, and partners; and even creating information, as in data mining and market research.

Goals. Choosing and leading people in a clear direction is the central thrust of leadership initiatives, mission statements, balanced scorecards, and similar systems. People prefer to work with a clear direction in mind; and, when people are aligned, decisions are faster and easier, and there is far less waste.

O-word. We’ll add one eventually. Other groups?

Technology. The technology - defined not as electronics or programming, but as the way things get done - must be consistent with the goals, social systems, and culture. Technologies have a major influence; try to change the culture without changing technology (particularly production processes), or vice versa, and you may be in trouble.