Where Is the Box We Need to Think Outside Of?

[DaveC426913]

I am old enough to know two main management trends - the old style that started on the factory floor and worked every job on the way up to CEO and the new guy that did a degree in management theory and believes management is a set of generic academic principles that can be learned and applied to any workplace context without any specific knowledge of the industry.

I am not sure how the history and circumstances of a manager's life path will inform this topic.

In the software industry, there are many problems to be solved to create a product. Often the problems have no clear solution, and the obvious soluions might be blocked by factors outside one's control. That does not mean there aren't solutions - one just needs to ... think outside the box.

I'll argue that what you're complaining about is that sometimes some managers use it in the wrong place at the wrong time, (such as before the problem and desired outcome is defined.) as a hand-waving "do your creative thing."

TOtB is a perfectly valid tool when in the right circumstances. It is not apppropriate in other circumstances.

To cast aspersions upon the tool itself is like complaining that hammers are dumb because a manager has put you at the foot of a live tree and told you to build a house.I'd suggest that the thread topic be changed to: managers can be dumb.

 

[Evo]

I'm closing the thread, there is just no point to it as a forum discussion.