Elevator model of managment

It is a simple model that encourages management to think and act in the way of an elevator. As with the common elevator, two main functions are performed. One to go down and the other to go up.

Top management sends its strategic plans down from the higher hierarchical level to the lower (from floor to floor), and the execution results are sent back from bottom to top satisfying each level goals. Just two processes one up from higher management and one down from lower to higher management.

Top management takes care of strategic planning and cascades it from top to bottom. That’s all it does. Bottom level employees see to the efficient execution by meeting their targets and pass the results higher up to reach ultimately the top achieving the corporate goals.

Unlike the common elevator that is in need of maintenance, here the technique is to make maintenance redundant by building and maintaining the right culture. Culture then provides the frictionless medium of the business functioning. Of course, the building of such a culture is no else’s responsibility but of the top management/leadership.

So according to the model a good management sends the lift down and a good workforce sends the lift up again and the necessary frictionless medium ensures that the lift is filled with the expected results.

What a simple but strategic concept of how management should function!