Harder, by far, than picking the best management ideas of all time is picking the worst.
I can think of no other area of expertise to which the word “fad” attaches itself so naturally. No one talks much of economics fads, or accounting fads, but there is something about the word “management” that means the word “fad” is never far away.
In the 20 years that I have been writing about these things, I have seen so many come and go that whittling the list down to the 10 most dismal, most damaging or most daft management fads of all time has been exceptionally challenging.
1) Emotional Intelligence
2) Management by Walking Around
3) Six Sigma
4) Core Competency
5) There is no “I” in Team
6) Embracing Mistakes
7) Business Process Re-engineering
8) Fun by fiat
9) Matrix Management
10) Authentic Leadership
