The Rules of Thumb

This section is designed to describe some basic rules of thumb in company management .

The golden rule - KISS - "Keep It Simple Stupid" !!! Don't make things more complicated than they need to be - simple but sophisticated - not simplistic but complicated .

1. understand that the primary mode of operation of the company has to be to maximise the capital productivity of the company . The basics of business operation must be adhered to - the Basic Business 101 . The company must be organised and run on this basis - both on the business and on the engineering side .
   
   as such :-
   
   Design the product as an asset and market it as a commodity . Ensure that the development cost is optimised - the overall cost is minimised and that the cost is less than the capital value .
   Ensure you do the maths and that they stack up .
   Ensure that the product has an identity - a place - in the market .
   Maximise the market reach of the product - maximise the locus of validity .
   Maximise efficiency . Maximise productivity . Minimise overheads . Optimise costs .
   Macromanage - not micromanage . Micromanagement occurs at the product level - at the project specification , the interface specification , the implementation and at the testing stage . It's about being good enough - standards must be maintained but perfection must be understood as perfect for the current point in time - constant progress must be maintained .
   
   
2. never assume that the evolutionary pressures on the company are neutral . As such - ensure , at all times , that the company :-
   
   
   1. is set up and run for progressive evolution . There must be a good , sophisticated , critical , working the greys approach . Staff must consistently identify all problems and notify management of those problems . The working atmosphere must be such that issues are generally talked about , thought about and worked through . An environment that promotes and supports diversity must be in place . There must be freedom of information , freedom of thought and freedom of speech . Ideas must be freely formed , voiced and discussed . Truths must become evident . Greater and superior truths must be adopted . Management must ensure that the issues and problems are dealt with . Pretending that problems don't exist won't make them go away . Identifying - seeing and voicing - new market opportunities - changes in the market place - is vitally important . Staff must be supported , respected and allowed to grow as people , to grow professionally , to grow in their ability to handle responsibility .
      
      
   2. is not set up , in any way , for a mass extinction event . Artificial environments - bubbles - must not be created . There must be no "keeping heads below the parapet" - this is passive toxicity and is deadly to companies . There must not be any personalities and politics . No one upping - no "my willy is bigger than yours" - no egos - no personal attacks , direct or indirect - only professionalism - concentrating 100% on the job in it's entirity .


3. the company must be values based . Values must be widely understood and accepted - this must come from the bottom . The nature of values is very much tied up with the nature of truths - as such the nature of truths must also be understood . The company must be viewed as a community . The members of the community must ensure that the values of the company are each added to - are each increased - are achieved .
   
   A value is something each individual person in the company can aim for on an individual basis . The 'achieving' of that value - the contributing of the result of the action to that value - advances the company . The company is the entity .
   
   A community supports all the individuals - whether members or not . Communities are not divisive . Communities are inclusive .
   
   The individuals performing within the company contribute to the company , as an entity , by contributing to the values held by the company .
   
   
4. maximise the value of the product within the economy as a whole . This is ultimately dependent on the product being unique and filling a specific niche .
   
   
5. always be moral and responsible . Always be professional - concentrate on the job - don't get involved in personalities and politics . Don't make personal attacks - don't call people names etc. . Don't take offense - don't be thin skinned .
   
   
6. deal with the issues . Don't ignore them . Don't get bogged down in them . Don't get side tracked . Deal with any dysfunctionality - fix it up - don't make it worse .
   
   
7. always be positive , constructive , supportive , helpful , respectful and civilised . A good manager maximises the potential of their staff and makes their projects and the company a success .
   
   
8. communicate effectively . Always check the view from the other person's angle . Be methodical and be explicit .
   
   
9. think , think , think ! Challenge everything . Discern the truth . Stand back and take perspective . See the wood from the trees .
   
   Understand truths . Truths have locus' of validity . A greater truth has a larger locus of validity . A superior truth takes into account inferior truths and has a larger locus of validity than those truths . The narrowing of the focus does not produce a greater , nor a superior truth , instead quite the opposite - a narrow focus is a more invalid locus . A truth is something that stands up of itself . If something has a greater or superior truth it becomes the adopted truth .

Understand perfection and being good enough . Perfection is a nebulous thing . Being perfect does not necessarily mean being good enough . A classic example is "the Perfect Void" - a void is perfect - always - but it is certainly not good enough - always . A program must work perfectly . But it is not perfect in that it can always be improved . It may be good enough for it's release but as the market requirements move on it may no longer be good enough .

Make mistakes - but small ones - learn from them . People who are perfect are people who make big mistakes and are people who don't get anywhere . People who make small mistakes are people who are exploring - who are advancing the science and the business - who are learning . People who make small mistakes usually don't make the big mistakes - they are productive and they contribute to the company . Ensure that there is a critical atmosphere - it's important to have knowledge freely circulating around the company , where mistakes are made lessons must be learned and spread around the company . People must not be attacked for making mistakes - that is counter productive . Mistakes must not be viewed as sins but rather as a part of life . A person who makes small mistakes is a person who is good enough . A person who makes big mistakes is a person who is definitely not good enough . Put in QA systems to check whether the job has been done correctly - detect and fix before product release .


10. always design for things going wrong .