The Will of a Policy

The basic principles that define a company are generally codified into a policy document so as it can be institutionalised over time. These basic tenets help companies to reuse experience (something like design patterns in computer programming) and define a course of action for different situations. Nothing can replace a pro-active, thinking manager. Nevertheless, such a document helps to promote uniformity and makes various company decisions, appointments and promotions appear more transparent and rational. It can also serve as a reference point in times of trouble and internal feuds. However, over time there is a serious danger that the map may become the prison if it is not flexible enough to accommodate the changes in the landscape, so to say. The day a successful company thinks that it has found a "Golden Rule" to succeed, it is doomed to fail sooner or later. There are plenty of examples that show this, the most significant being that of General Motors.

So, I was thinking what can be done to prevent this. As any management book will tell you, flexibility is of paramount importance and there is no final word on improvement. To actually implement this in spirit is another matter. The recent attempt by regulators to make bank write their living wills gave me an idea. Wouldn't it help if every policy point also attempts to define the circumstances in which it should be scrapped off gracefully, lest it sticks around like a troubling, evil relic that nobody understands. Effectively, I want every policy point to not only write its will but also a suicide note. A policy can also attempt to define the thinking behind it and possible scenarios when the recommended line of action may not be the best one. The language has to be very direct, clear and reasonably simple; a grade 10 should be able to make some sense out of it without contradictions. This would prevent misuse and misinterpretation. It is inevitable that better ways will be found to do business, technology will impose fast changes and that there will be potential for growth in the future. Old markets will die, new will come up. Good people will come to organization and there will be some rotten, lazy apples as well. Transparency, fairness, speed and flexibility are the only defence, we are often told. But unless this is put into concrete words of policy and then put into action, they are not likely to mean anything to anybody.

Another thing to remember while making policies is that the world exists in shades of grey. So, it is good to be skeptical about any thought that irrevocably ties you to either black or white. A bipartisan solution is often the most balanced one. Another thing to keep in mind is the cyclical, unpredictable nature of things: what is bad today can be good tomorrow and vice-versa. The same ball that gets hit for a six by a batsman in cricket can get him clean bowled as well. The trick, then, is to use all your experience to watch every ball keenly and play it on the merit of the ball with perfect timing(So easy to say and yet so few that are able to do it with perfection). Management decisions are no different.

With these points in mind, this is how I would like to define the policies for my company. And I hope I will be doing it soon.