Balancing Management by Objectives with Management by Exception

We all have experienced those situations when something really important has gone badly. Looking back, it was evident that more attention should have been paid to the issue but it was somehow missed. Had we made the conscious choice, we would have paid far more attention to this issue and less attention to some other things. Even the most conscientious individuals experience this situation at some time or other.

Over my career, I have dealt with this situation numerous times both in business and personal situations. I have dealt with it both for my own responsibilities and for those of individuals working for me. While there is little value “crying over spilt milk”, there are steps that can be taken to avoid regrets in the future.

Every individual has a list of results for which he is responsible. Not all results are of equal importance or complexity. Some results have to be completed in a certain way and at a certain time. Other results are highly flexible. It doesn’t really matter when or how they are done.

Let’s go back and say those things in a more explicit manner. Not all results are of equal importance to you. You want some results completed in a certain way at a certain time. Other results do not really matter to you.

Some results are highly visible and can affect your company’s performance and your own career success. Other results, while important to someone, may be of little importance to you. You may be responsible for the results, but they are of little importance.

So, the first thing in providing the appropriate level of management is to choose the things that are important to you. Hopefully you choose the right things to treat as important. If something is important to your supervisor or the person who controls your salary, it should also be important to you.

Once you have decided what is important to you and what is not, you can create two lists. The first list contains the results you will Manage by Objectives (MBO). The second list contains the results you will Manage by Exception (MBE).

Take some time to view the two lists. The MBO list will be managed using Project Management skills and techniques. In some cases, the results may be fairly simple and not very time consuming. In other cases, the requirement of ensuring the tasks are done in a certain manner and at a certain time may require a lot of time and attention. Ask yourself: Does the importance of the result justify the time and attention this activity will receive? If not, it may belong on the MBE list.

Now look at the MBE list and think about what will happen when an “exception” occurs. If a result is being managed by exception, you are only concerned with keeping it “between the ditches”. You really don’t care how or when the thing gets done; only that it is done. If something goes wrong, you will take the action needed to put it back on track, but nothing else. It the activity goes way off track, you are likely to receive some complaints or calls from unhappy customers, but that serves as your “MBE warning”. The complaint is the notification that an exception has occurred and you need to take corrective action.

The question you should ask your self is: Am I willing to deal with the complaints I will receive? If not, you may be better off placing the item on the MBO list. If all the individuals lodging complaints share your estimate of the importance of the issue, then it should be appropriate to handle as an exception.

Clearly, the first step in this process is to separate the MBO items from the MBE items. Once that is done, you can proceed to develop detailed plans for all the MBO items and do so without being concerned that you will later regret one of the MBE items you are ignoring.

This article has discussed the following issues:

• Management by Objectives
• Management by Exception
• Segregating MBO from MBE responsibly

Readers are invited to comment on these or any other related issues.