Small Giants: Companies That Choose to be Great Instead of Big

by Bo Burlingham

“Finally it dawned on me that the VP I’d appointed had introduced a new concept: being laid back. He was babysitting, not managing. He’d created an environment where people weren’t concerned with rules and standards. They thought, ‘Oh, that’s Jay.’ I could see it in every division. People weren’t being trained. They weren’t being groomed. They weren’t being led. His approach was, ‘Make sure there are no problems; if there is one, I’ll help.’ If a kid puts a block in his mouth, you take it out. If the stove gets on fire, you put it out. You don’t ask, ‘Why did this happen? Who did it? What do they need to learn?’ He was creating an environment he was comfortable with, not the one I wanted. But it was my fault. I should have been building a management team. I went back to the manager I’d screamed at and apologized. She said, ‘I was getting mixed messages from the two of you.’ ”