and they must be ahead of the audience . That is what magicians do . The fact of the matter is that reality changes very fast and changes without any warning or notice . Examples of the realities impacting the operating environment include changes in stakeholder expectations , regulatory requirements , natural calamities , process design failures , technology , competition and customer tastes .
Magic is driven by unpredictability and the realm of surprise . Managers must therefore be comfortable with the surprise brought about by change , which is the reality and a constant . To the contrary , the magicians must always know the outcome before any act . Can logisticians move to this level ? While this exists only in a perfect world , it should be a motivation in the management of supply chains .
Management depends on the ability to influence people to act and behave in a desired way . It can be argued that managers influence staff by creating a vision for them to see possibilities that may not exist , and opportunities that others view as impossibilities . If managers can create certainty about the unpredictable parts of the supply chain , they then create competitive advantage and value . Customers pay for this value . In logistics this could be finding new sources of products , superior substitutes , shorter lead times , new technology in tracking and tracing , creating communities and opportunities for cooperation among competitors .
Magicians specialize in fooling the audience . There is no room for that in managing supply chains . This comes back to haunt the supply chain service provider - it only gives a temporary relief , but not a lasting solution . The customer must never feel like they have been fooled . Never . However , the manager must create a focal point for all players in the supply chain - the focus being superior service delivery . Pitfalls must be anticipated - these include failures , delays , defects - and the ability to cure these . Managers must carefully manage the assumptions they make about the operation of their business . They must examine assumptions made about the business trends . They must then manage any inconsistencies and warning signs that things could go wrong . They must stay alert to avoid being fooled and they should constantly challenge the assumptions by staying close to the operating environment - the operation theatre .
Managers must measure what must get done . This includes creating deliverables , work plans , defined resources as well as the frequency of undertaking the measurement - like weekly reports , financial or otherwise ( e . g . status reports , variance , overruns etc ). This also defines responsibilities and accountabilities . Magicians have a strict step-by-step execution plan . If one step is missed , the show becomes a failure . Logistics managers , must be thorough , they must be clear , they must hold each to account and keep the systems open and working . They should not allow for ambiguity and simply put - no opaqueness !
Magicians display power . They focus on controlling the minds and perceptions of the audience . Control of mind is critical , to drive suspense and expectations or the surprise moments . They use tricks to achieve this , and do not let the audience into their pack of tricks . This is their source of power .
Do logisticians have to use tricks to control the supply chains ? On the contrary , they should not even attempt to do it . Just as conventional managers , they must empower their staff . Their power should never be in controlling their customers . Staff working in the supply chain must be supported with resources to empower them . They must be given the leeway to make decisions with accountability . A manager also exercises power by influencing perception and focusing attention of the staff and customers . This is critical .
Decision making in supply chains requires decisiveness supported by speed and precision in execution . Sometimes this may come into play when managers have to take swift actions that ordinarily may seem to be autocratic , but this is supported by the position power that they hold . It is also worth noting that the managers may misuse the power to misdirect the staff - this can lead to dysfunction . However , any acquired power in winning over the competitors is welcome , and must be defended to sustain competitive edge . Magicians keep secrets . The competitive advantage must be guarded and kept secret .
Managers have to learn to deal with challenges from their staff , other managers and customers . It is very possible that the colleagues and customers may as well work to curtail the manager ’ s effort . This is well covered from organizational behavior . The managers must grow and guard their reputation . They must be seen as doing what they say and keeping promises . Reputation is developed and grown through consistently doing the right things and fulfilling promises and commitments made . Magicians try to fulfil their promises for a great show . This earns them returns and reputation . Managers should know that a simple mistake may ruin their reputation . Inconsistency is worse . It is not easy to repair damaged reputation . Some of the ugly issues that supply chain managers must avoid at all costs include , missed orders , stock outs , costs of waste ( e . g demurrage ), missed targets , cost over runs , unplanned delivery re-routing , slow moving inventory , expiries , returns , or even unplanned plant shut-downs .
The element of suspense which is deployed by magicians leads to some degree of doubt among the audience . This has an element of disbelief and questioning the “ magic ”. The audience keeps on trying to unearth the magic element in the tricks played . Even though the surprise may excite them , the doubts about being fooled continue lingering on . Managers can borrow from this and turn it around to create lasting effect for their customers , and not doubts . The customers should be excited about the outcome and not question the process .
The world of magic looks forward to pleasant surprises . However , people generally hate being fooled . It is insulting to their intelligence . Likewise , managers should never engage in surprises that fool the customers or staff . There is no room for that in supply chain too . Results are visible , the processes are mostly verifiable .
While magic excites , it should never be the overall approach that managers should deploy . But for one to be a successful manager , all skills from management theory must be applied . They should never forget that , and a bit of magic will also go a long way .
References
Peter Prevos : The Magician Manager : The Role of Deception in Business : 26 September 2011 :
Terry Bragg : https :// www . bizjournals . com / louisville / stories / 2000 / 02 / 28 / editorial2 . html
Michael Nzule is the Finance & Strategy Director of Mitchell Cotts Freight Kenya Limited . He holds an MBA in Accounting with specialization in Marketing , and a Bachelors of Commerce ( Accounting Option Hons ) from the University of Nairobi . He ’ s a member of ICPAK . Views expressed here-in are personal . You can commune with him via mail at : Mikemaithyanz @ gmail . com .