Philosophical perspective

The philosophical nature of management derives from a fundamental and inescapable practical characteristic of this type of work, which is that it generally involves leading other people. In that sense, being an effective manager has similarities in all the diverse domains where the relevant skills are applied.

From a production manager in a factory, to a military commander, to a bank manager, the criteria for success usually involves fostering loyalty and respect from your team, in order to achieve measurable results. Of course, sometimes respect is replaced by fear, while measures of success may vary. Yet ultimately a manager almost always needs to somehow convince a group of people to work together, in order to achieve a specific goal.

Often that group includes people with diverse skills, backgrounds and personalities. Usually there are also differences of opinions regarding objectives, priorities, methodologies, roles and responsibilities. This publication is intended to first identify and then address these practical issues, by examining them from both a practical and a motivational perspective.

The concept resulted from a combination of two unrelated events in my life: teaching a course involving software project management at Carleton University and becoming an avid practitioner of meditation. The former draws from my own career, to provide the technical fodder for numerous practical examples and situations cited, while the latter gives some philosophical perspective to the discussion.

Although the material is intended to be generic enough to apply to the management profession in general, it draws primarily upon my experience from the software development industry. Similarly, while the philosophical messages are meant to be generic, the text may refer to wisdom gleaned from some of the major world religions.

For example, there are references to Eastern (Hindu and Buddhist) teachings, as well as wisdom from the Semitic (Judaism, Christianity and Islam) philosophies. All of these cultures have historically incorporated meditation in one form or another to in order to enhance their own perspectives. These practices all share the characteristic of having significant practical implications, when applied to our everyday work lives. 

What this means is that anybody can practice meditation and apply the insight thereby gained to their personal and professional lives. This can pertain to diverse personal growth areas, such as relationships, self esteem, parenting, finance, etc.

The management profession is a particularly relevant domain in which to apply these concepts, because it requires the honing of many characteristics that can be enhanced by clarity, insight and wisdom.

For example, meditation and management both emphasize understanding, detachment, balance, compassion, decisiveness and so on. Thus our own personal strengths, convictions and beliefs - whatever they may be - can be enhanced by what we find here. It is my belief that we can achieve the professional results that we seek by encouraging the people whom we manage to flourish and to reach their full potential, all while striving to understand and achieve the goals of their employer.