Readers have commented here in the past about bad managers. Yeah, they’re everywhere. Some worse than others. Still others are actually pretty good managers, in completely intractable situations.

While managers, hopefully, know their staff, customers, and markets, they are judged by not only their ability to make decisions, but wise and timely ones.

An excellent, well written, and even humorous article on IndustryWeek.com proposes that EDD—Executive Decision Dysfunction—drains “the profits of corporations of every size as afflicted CEOs and managers hide behind their desks, afraid to tell their colleagues—or even their spouses—about the embarrassing problem that prevents the full performance of their duties.”

The article’s called Brandt On Leadership – Overcome By Indecision, authored by John R. Brandt.

He makes some excellent points, such as…

• Today’s vast amounts of available resources and data should help managers but, instead, cloud thinking and thus make a decision even more difficult to make.

• Misguided understanding of empowerment strategies (Also see these two (1) and (2) articles on this blog.), leading to announcements that “the group should decide.”

• Recent waves of downsizing which, of course, make everyone at least a tad twitchy and fearful.

• A “permissive, politically correct culture has somehow fostered an entire generation of namby-pambies scared of having opinions or making mistakes…”

Brandt continues with a really good read, suggesting some materials that will be linked in Wednesday’s follow-up.

Makes me think of some of these product liability cases. Also makes me think of the Theory of Natural Selection. Following are but a few snippets from that theory.

• The lack of resources to nourish these individuals places pressure on the size of the species population, and the lack of resources means increased competition and as a consequence, some organisms will not survive.

• The organisms who die as a consequence of this competition were not totally random, Darwin found that those organisms more suited to their environment were more likely to survive.

• This resulted in the well known phrase survival of the fittest, where the organisms most suited to their environment had more chance of survival if the species falls upon hard times.

While it is often difficult to see beyond robotic personas, executives and managers are, in fact, biological organisms to which the above certainly applies.

So, maybe it’s not a bad thing when a manager chokes. Maybe it’s a good thing, in that he or she can evolve from mistakes, placing themselves another rung or two higher in the food chain. Conversely, sticking with Darwin, a manager who chokes and cannot evolve gets eaten. Someone else then places higher in the chain.

Of course, this theory applies to all of us, grunt to exec.

Generations come into play as well. Managers are generally younger these days (Or is it that I’m older? Dammit.). Many of today’s managers were raised in child-proof households. They couldn’t accidentally reach into the cabinet under the sink and learn from valuable experience that chlorine bleach is not lemonade. They didn’t learn that you shouldn’t wear a tie whilst under the hood of a running car, as all of those nasty, necktie-hungry belts are shielded these days. (Don’t forget, we’re paying for those ‘safety’ shields.) They were strapped into child seats that could protect even lilliputian NASCAR drivers in the event of a rollover. And don’t forget that many were raised to believe that they could do no wrong. Veritable superheroes. Grown-up life must come as one helluva shock after that.

This also brings to mind an article here that touched upon motorcycle helmet laws. In the evolutionary context, perhaps it’s not a bad thing that someone decides not wear a helmet and splatters their skull all over the Interstate like a watermelon that just fell from a truck. Hey, at least they won’t reproduce. Survival of the fittest, no?

Just hope and pray that we find the strength to not only make decisions, but wise and timely ones.