MANAGER vs FOUNDER

Photo credit: www.redeye.firstround.com

Otume,

I am back from the Igede clan in Benue State and I am now with my friends from Degema, Rivers State, saying "hello" to everyone. May we always encounter favour as we anticipate a new month.

There is a certain man who was hired as a manager; he had great ideas and was willing to share it with the founder of his company. The founder does whatever he wants at every point in time. Out of frustration, the young man started executing his ideas without permission and this got him into trouble with the founder who felt slighted by the actions of the man. Let's think together as we discussed, Manager vs Founder.

The manager is the person that was hired to take charge of certain aspects of the business. As a PR person; the Manager in charge of Client Services is different from the Manager in charge of Media Relations. There are boundaries that must not be passed; as a matter of fact, you will not be measured based on the job description of others. Many times, there are processes and procedures that must be followed by employees in an organisation.

The Founder is the person who takes responsibility for the successes and the failures of his organization. He is the master strategist; he loses his sleep over how to move the business to the next level. He loses his temper when he loses a client, his blood pressure increases towards the end of the month as regards the payment of wages. The founder must be ahead of all departmental heads and lastly ensure that he is fair to everyone.

What's the crux of this discussion, you cannot dictate to the founder. The processes in place either crude or sophisticated must be adhered to; like my boss usually reiterate, "if the kitchen is too hot, get out!" You have to get out if you think the founder is wrong. You are not in a position to dictate. However, founders must also know that two "good" heads are better than one. Giving your manager the open hand to operate within their jurisdiction without impeding results will improve your modus operandi.

Well, I will learn to be an efficient manager and ultimately a listening founder because every suggestion would be thoroughly evaluated to move my firm forward. Of a truth, there is no monopoly of knowledge and there is no right and wrong answers when it comes to creative endeavours.

Cheers!

Olutayo