Sharing a Vision Beyond a Paycheck

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~ a strategy to get more of the best and the
teacliersinstead of being content to set our
tests'of mininnim Competency. And, perhaps most imftO'm'
·~&etary of Education on down, our education
riSen.abovethe petty squabbles about merit pay,
·~~J.·cfayandschool year, .and .created a vision of our
~~QAl;1!~,,J!~ ~t has .Illc;ant to our country, why it suciI
tn the past and what challenges lie ahead, and IIhared that vision'
two,~1ion teachers, thousands of school·boardmembers and
c,,~· • ',. , iOm o\iigoals Will not be.~Qinplished.•
, . , ..
~ a strategy to get more of the best and the
teacliersinstead of being content to set our
tests'of mininnim Competency. And, perhaps most imftO'm'
·~&etary of Education on down, our education
riSen.abovethe petty squabbles about merit pay,
·~~J.·cfayandschool year, .and .created a vision of our
~~QAl;1!~,,J!~ ~t has .Illc;ant to our country, why it suciI
tn the past and what challenges lie ahead, and IIhared that vision'
two,~1ion teachers, thousands of school·boardmembers and
c,,~· • ',. , iOm o\iigoals Will not be.~Qinplished.•
, . , ..
~~

The New York Times, Sunday, January 18, 1987

W hen U.s. l?usiness fares poony:;n ~()~ld 'coll1peti~ ~e start asking

what management has done wrong and what we'can learn from the
best managed companies. The same .questions.are dirc:cte4 .at our public
schools.every time neW IlaPOIl;U test~coJ;~.arerel~edY{hic~~ow that
we're not. doing Wep';with'"1~&el,l~be~of~<l~~H\"~ ",·:~,t~< '. ;,~~

But Just what changes;arenee<ied 10 management if orgamzatlOns
~i~"~J.!~<~·~~~"/\;"··:;?;;:~>J~~?·,\~:<~~~·,~~4;;~.:~A~~jS~MENT:.::·. '" :';. :,~:. :};,?;;'f~:~:)l:.t~~~~*;~1&~~11
Management 'Create~:s~q~e
are to be improved? And ~il::p..:~g~mel!t:PJ~~.;-ar~ r~ponsib~!:r~
for our failures and successes? If. an unsuccessfuli::(>,J:np~ or school·
ado 18 the s . les'and 'racti ~ofsuccessfUl oraruiatiOiiVS"suCceSs sure"

to f~lIow? tGesequeslions £reafihe"center of ~uclloI'iJle"CWTentaeD§'u;.:.,

in education and in.business. . • .

, Barly laSl-'yeat/06slld M. Kendall, Chairman oftheJJoardanq,
CEQ of Pe~iCc:>;JIl~ ~~ljyered an address "on:1'he Four~i~'Ple'T.rUth~
of Management"·at Fuda}fUniversity, Shanghai in thePeoPles"Republie'
of China. HiS·remarks were reprinted in Vital Sp~eche.s ~ayJ~, 1'~6):

Kendall cited his 30 years as head of "a major intemationiU cOin.. '
pany"saying, "... if there's one thing I learned, it'sthllt'the.~Qst ~-'
portant prinCiples of successful management are really the most basi~'
ones. And they apply to all human epdeavors. So I have n? ne;w t~~'tor~e'!l
or sophisticate4 systems to share with you. I have but fout s~pleti1
But I am convinced that in these four simple truths lie tlle key to s" .


and fulfillment." . . , '" , .... ~.
. Kendall's first point "is that any comple~ organization is ma~ged'
best on a decentralized basis. . . . We have worked very hiu'd to-decen-'
tralize our operations-to set up autonomous units that ate responsible


,for developing ambitious goals within their sphere ofo~tion~'and

. thim for achieving those ambitious objectives ... ';OfCQ.~e;·t1te~muSt
be a' central purpose to the entire organization-a central plan ·'against·,
which all the sep~ate elements can be gaUged; ..Buttbe'deVe~enti'O"·1
specijij;: objectives lhat suppoq thiscentfal' p1an.ol.and'the"deVei()},meBt'l
of th~~.specific strategi~, products and' programs-these are tl1&;fe$non.;.:;·,
sibi1iti~s Of the' operatiilgunits,",.. '.,;''';,'

:As organ~t~Olls s,!!cceed, they tend. to growmol'ebur~a~.
fact," says Kendall, "as organizations grow larger andmore·suCeessful,
think the biggest single challenge they face is to retain the attitudes; OJ
erat~ng prp~dures, ~hilosoJ?hy 'and relationship~ thattheY;had·'whea···
they wer~:swall and that ultimately were respc;lJlSlble for thelr,SUCCe8§"

You can decentralize and trust decision-making down the, line only
if you follow the second basic management principle, which'~is to hire,
the best possible people for every level in your organization. There simply
is no substitute for great people, and no way to compensate for the
lack of great people."


'K~aH:,::advises:,::that, once you have top-notch personnel, there
dd ~fi.1utuiU agreeJ,Jlent on goals, which "should not be dictated by

ll\=:d~:::rthl~=:!=r~:~~::r:d~~il~~:~i~~~::'

top management. • ; . The job of senior management, then, is to·
measUre results, monitor progress and help the operating people take
corrective action wherever necessary. . . . Another way in which top··
management creates an environment for success i$ by encouraging PlY:


· dent risk-taking. You mUst develop a certain tolerance of failure. At
PepsiCo we punish incoIl1petence. but we do not punish failure. We
z:ecognize that occasional· failure is the price of creativity, innovation,
bOldness and' eon:tinuing growth." c. .' ~---


. ~~ngaIl·~J~r.4 m~agelll~nt principle ste~Sfrolll ~atfact that " ....

whenever you have l;lright, energetic, innovative people working in a decentralized
environment, there always is the potential thllt they'l go off in
· separate directions:" BureaucracieS often solve this prOblem with exten~
ve rul~s and .r~gt!lations whi~bgelleral!y ~~ant~e th~:~v:~,?~e&pes
lD the sam~ dlIection, but which alSo. stdle energy and milovatujn;

Keridall MS Ii different view of how to lteep~vetYone' ~~t;:in ~

non-bureaucratic organization. "1 believe the most inlPOl1allt job of'toP.
.management is to create a vision of the organitation/:a:JI~ of purpose.
And then to share that :vision with others in the Qrgaruzation-so that·
· everyone knows what it was that made the organjZau(»,l sUccCi!!Sful in. the
PCiSt; and what it will take to ensure the continuationofthat"'$UcceSs.
j ~""All ot'tiS\,airt meaning in Qur lives beyond Ii paycheck;beyond;4Qly.sU8tenance/We want the opport~ity to share great values and
,great visions+and:.tO haye a real part of turning these values and visions

into reality ..' . '. ", .... '.' . . . '.: ". :';CJ ;
· / .. ' "I think this is the essence of leadership-7tb1S"~hannlofthe vision.
.And we must share it. Because thCte'is'preciouS littlethat$iy leader can
;8.ccomplish himself-without the,active support and. participation of
thousands of people at;every level·of the organization;"
i .. Fin~ly;-K~danstresses the,importance of maintaining and devel'
qping strong perso~al relationships as a way of getting vital, first-hand
'information about operations and ClS a means of resolving conflicts that

'always arise in organizations.. .'.

.' :. How woUldcthe school reform movement have developed if these
principles of management. had been followed? For one thing, we would
'Ilave looked for wa~to.•encouragemore decision-making by teachers in
'Classr~msand prin#ip-~sin ~choolS;rather than bind t~em by rules and
r.egulationscset down by" legislatures and state education departments .



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