Leaders Don't Hide Behind Data

One hundred and thirty years ago, a jeweler named Willard Bundy changed the world of management: He invented the employee time clock. It was a natural consequence of the times. Management had fueled industrialism (and vice versa).Without management, there was no chance to coordinate the workforce, to be sure the work was getting done, and to ensure quality. Management not only worked to contain the costs of our most expensive input (labor); it created a command-and-control regime that allowed us to increase productivity and quality. Management is an industrial activity. In many ways, it enables the race to the bottom. By managing carefully, bosses can inexorably lower costs. The problem with a race to the bottom is that you might win. Amazon and the rest of the internet bodega have demonstrated that a downward ratchet benefits the monopoly middleman, not the organization churning out widgets or the driver hustling his Uber.