Mark Goulston is an outstanding psychiatrist, and nowadays he also consults businesses. A talented therapist has already become successful in writing. Just Listen written by Mark Goulston is considered to be one of the most popular modern books according to Kindle. The main purpose of the paper is to provide brief information regarding the biography of Goulston and the in-depth analysis of the article written by the professional on micromanagement.
Bibliography
A would-be psychiatrist was born in 1948 in Boston (Zimmerman, 2011). Goulston developed rapidly and finished school earlier than his classmates. He studied at the University of Vermont and the University of California. Having a bachelor’s degree in zoology, he continued the studying process at the University of Massachusetts. Goulston claims that these years he had depression, and it was the reason he decided to study at the medical school in Boston (Zimmerman, 2011).
After having the experience of working with schizophrenics, Goulston understood that psychiatry is a field where he can be successful. He considered that listening and empathy are the best tools that should be used in the process of treatment of severe illness (Goulston, 2010). After the practice, he received an MD degree at the Boston University School of Medicine.
Working Experience
Goulston worked with couples, families, and centered his attention on examination of the suicides and death. The experience of calling and providing consultations over the phone to the patients who were dying inspired Goulston to help not only families and couples but their businesses as well. His passion for work beneficially influenced the progress he made. Nowadays Goulston is a coach and consultant for the most influential organizations in the world, like Xerox, Kodak, IBM, FBI, Hyatt, and a lot of others.
His interviews were printed in respectful magazines and newspapers, like The New York Times and Forbes. The psychiatrist developed the e-learning programs that aim to help the students in their academic performance. The program was created to eliminate stress and anxiety during the tests, improve the results, and motivate the students to do their best.
The Commentary Regarding the Case
Being an expert in the field of psychiatry, Goulston has also developed theories regarding the ways of business development. The article on micromanagement comments on the business case and the actions of George. The author aims to evaluate whether George is guilty of micromanagement. Goulston compares the company from the case, Retronics, to Apple. The similarities can be found between these two organizations in terms of founders. Apple replaced the founder with John Sculley, a highly professional operational manager. However, it should be stressed that this replacement did not have an impressively positive effect on the development of the company.
Retronics experience the same changes (Goulston, 2004). The main problem of the vast majority of corporations is that they are sure that it is better to be predictable and follow certain rules to be successful and to reach prosperity. Some managers believe that their primary objective is to have everything under control, namely the staff and the working process. Although it is essential to be aware of the peculiarities of the working process, it is worth stating that control is a controversial method. Control is an obstacle towards nurturing the creative and motivated team. According to Goulston, George aimed to develop the vision of the company (Goulston, 2004).
Shelley was the person that could help him on the way towards the achievement of this goal; however, the self-confidence of Shelley influenced the way their relationships developed. Creative employees are an integral part of every successful company, and the approach of constant control does not support the workers in their desire to be creative and innovative. The author provides an example of the flower to illustrate how control affects the working process. Goulston stresses that a flower planted in a tight pot has no chances to be in blossom. Shelley is creative; however, the environment does not support her in attempts to make a difference and to innovate the working process.
The author notes that in the case, the board cares about the organization, they should consider the point of view of the CEO that they had fired. It is significantly important to point out the case at Apple when the board asked Steve Jobs to innovate the company’s visions. Steve Jobs accepted this opportunity. Goulston goes on and provides an example of George’s possible model of behavior. First and foremost, George should give up his control approach and leave the employees room for creativity. The author also highlights that it is essential for George to use the “power of apology” to change their cooperation with Shelley (Goulston, 2004).
George should understand that he was not right and apologize. The decisions made by Shelley were undermined and criticized. According to the expert, the desire to control everything and to treat Shelley this way is hidden in the fears and anxieties of George. To prove the words of apology, George has to delegate an important project to Shelley and provide her with space for creativity. Although George is the one who is responsible for the difficulties in communication with Shelley, it is worth stressing that she should also be ready to cooperate and accept his apology. She should understand the point of view George and help him to make a difference. Goulston highlights that the system of feedback is the perfect approach that should be implemented in the working process to improve it in the future.
In conclusion, it should be stated that Goulston provides a critical commentary on the case with George and offers possible variants of the problem solution. People project their fears and anxiety to others, and it is important to find options on how to eliminate it, for the business to be successful. The article Is George Guilty of Micromanagement aims to highlight that the approach to have every step and action of the employee under control is not beneficial for the development of visions, strategies, and accomplishments of the company. It is significantly important for the business to take into consideration the previous experience of the organizations to eliminate the risk of making the same mistakes.
The author compares the case with the Retronics with Apple. Reasonable management and understanding that creativity and innovations are the best tools for success creation can lead the companies to prosperity. However, it might be complicated for the board to manage and deal with all the issues, and that is, experts like Goulston offer consultations that can influence the progress of the business positively.
References
Goulston, M. (2004). Is George guilty of micromanagement? Web.
Goulston, M. (2010). Just listen: Discover the secret to getting through to absolutely anyone. New York, NY: American Management Association. Web.
Zimmerman, E. (2011). Putting a shared office to the test. Web.