Recently I was talking to a Sergeant (name withheld) regarding the setup of rank within the San Francisco Police Department. He related the following as its current organization.
Officer, Inspector, Sergeant, Lieutenant, Captain, Commander, Deputy Chief, Assistant Chief & Chief.
It’s ranking structure is based on military foundations.
He then went on to explain that San Francisco should be pushed into cutting the fat and removing certain ranks, because….
…rank costs money.
That was the kicker. The lynch-pin. The cream of the crop.
It was that simple statement that struck a chord with me. A statement of which I found particular importance in delivering to you today.
Maybe it applies to you, and maybe it doesn’t. Certainly however, there are businesses that could benefit from cutting that fat. From removing the extraneous bugs that eat away at budgets, moral & productivity.
How might this statement apply to you in your sphere of responsibility? What unnecessary ranks are costing you money?
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"You’re such a smart boy!" were his first accolades heard. So, it’s no wonder that this phrase became the title of his business, Smart Boy Designs.
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{ 24 comments… read them below or add one }
That is very true in every way. People just appoint managers for no reason. Why would some random team of few members need three or four levels of managers when even one is not required. The company feels awesome when they can show authority. The point they miss out on is that they squeeze the employee salary for the top guy who pretty much do nothing. This is just a personal experience. I guess companies need to realize that its a waste of money to have too many managers and it does not get anything done. But increase cost.
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Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 16, 2011 at 10:06 am
I love how you put this thought Eddie. And the often occurrence is incredible too – where you’ll get a few managers managing other managers. It’s awful, and can often be a huge waste.
Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 16, 2011 at 10:07 am
I’m trying to think of a few companies as examples, that we could use where their rank is costing them too much money. I guess almost any corporate level company would suffice, as that’s where you see a lot of the bloat.
Yup. It’s usually the behemoth corporations. But there are exceptions.
My buddies at Google tell me that, when they hire someone, they do their best to keep them and get them involved. That’s not always the case but it’s nice to see companies with a commitment to human resources.
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Did someone say middle management?
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Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 16, 2011 at 11:51 am
@eugene said it, and he’s right!
I’m with Mr. RealityBurst himself here – middle management is quite fatty.. But that’s corporate America: positions are created with little strategic value or flexibility.. So they are expendable, sadly.
I’ve been on all ends of this. It can be rough. The funny thing is how some entities get around this. You can have the responsibility of an exec or senior manager, with a title or rank that compensates poorly (and not just money-wise).
I think some companies grow too fast. They create “filler positions” rather than thinking about what is sustainable.. Then the down-sizing starts. Ouch.
A little planning goes a long way. Establish your core resources and tend to the gaps first…
Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 16, 2011 at 11:49 am
Middle management. I guess when you’re fat – you’re fat everywhere, right?
It’s interesting to see those with rank talking about cutting rank. Of course, if it becomes THEIR rank being cut – they’re going to have a problem. As long as it cuts those above or below them, they’re happy.
We’re all finicky little creatures, humans we are.
Rank and titles are interesting things. They almost really have no meaning in themselves.
Account Executives for example could range from someone straight out of college, to the exec that runs all of North America as their territory.
So just because they have a fancy title doesn’t mean they are big wigs that must have money thrown at them. Their really are only three ranks in my book. Beginner, Skilled, and Expert.
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Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 16, 2011 at 3:39 pm
Beginner. Skilled. Expert.
If our system of doing business was ranked in those three categories, it seems things may be a little more fluid and digestible.
Interesting though, because even company executives and CEOs might not even be considered Experts. Maybe in leadership, but elsewhere they might lack.
Twitter: berget
August 16, 2011 at 1:12 pm
Hi Christian,
Ah, ranks! I work at a public college in Norway, and ranks are costing us a lot of money. And, I don’t want to say anything bad about people, but ranks are not always something people (all the names are witheld) deserve. It’s more like something we get, just because we need the ranks, that’s how the system is. It’s top-down beuracracy
Jens
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Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 16, 2011 at 3:43 pm
Ranks often feed our egos. Often causing us to work less in some cases. We think we’re too important for “lesser” work and then those higher level people start to push the extra work onto others.
Thanks for pointing that out Jens!
Rank is a socially constructed concept and only has meaning because a shared group of people choose to believe it. Rank and authority have some good values, but we shouldn’t be afraid to question these things and remember that they are not sui generis. With that being said, it’s still good to think about how rank fits into your life and what is helpful and what is not.
Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 16, 2011 at 3:45 pm
I experienced this while talking to the Sergeant from San Francisco. Sergeant sounds rather impressive, and then I realized that there are a whole lot more “ranks” even above sergeant.
They only hold power within their respective context.
Definitely – I don’t see this as much in my own company as I do where my dad works… He’s always talking about the higher-ups and how there is this manager and that manager and this boss and that CEO and the whole lot of them don’t get nearly as much done as my dad does himself! I think a lot of them are wholly unnecessary. Thanks for sharing, I think this totally relates in many fields!
Laurie
Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 16, 2011 at 3:46 pm
If you don’t mind me asking, what field/type of business is your Dad in?
Yes and no. The theory being that someone with 13 years experience brings more value to the table and are therefore worth more for their rank. A 1st year has no idea what they are getting into and should be paid less until they get a profitable system. Like I said, in theory.
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Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 17, 2011 at 12:14 pm
That “value” certainly comes with time. That’s the difficulty companies begin to see. The value is difficult to identify. Someone might be worth more because they’ve had all that experience, can lead well, and often their skills aren’t necessarily easily “quoted” or identifiable.
It reminds me of an excellent Loretta Laroche story.
She was making roast beef and cutting the ends of the meat. She asked herself.. why am I doing this? This is alot of good meat. So she called her mother.
“Ma… why do I cut off the ends of the roast beef?” Her mother answered.. “I don’t know, ask your grandma.” So she called her grandma.
“Grandma.. why do I cut off the ends of the roast beef?” Grandma answered.. “I don’t know why you do it. I do it because it didn’t fit in the pan!”.
Its always good to ask why.
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Twitter: smartboydesigns
August 17, 2011 at 10:13 pm
I sure love that sote (story/quote). Just gives you that simple little reminder to ask those questions – and make learned, knowledgeable decisions about EVERYTHING in life.
Twitter: jonathangaurano
August 17, 2011 at 11:12 pm
This is perfect! I work at a startup company (names withheld) and recently I was told that I was ‘Doing Too Much.’ I was doing things that were above my pay grade. Regardless if it was correct / right…because it wasn’t my job (not given the rank to do so) – I should stand back.
This can really cost a company. Even myself $$
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August 18, 2011 at 8:51 am
What do you a think a company should do to get past a situation like that?
Good day! This post couldn’t be written any better! Reading through this post reminds me of my good old room mate! He always kept chatting about this. I will forward this post to him. Pretty sure he will have a good read. Many thanks for sharing!
Twitter: smartboydesigns
September 29, 2011 at 8:44 am
Thanks for sharing the post, Kelley. Sure hope your roommate enjoys the thoughts shared here.