More Net Promoter Rhetoric

Graham Hill

Such is the Nature of Management

Bob, Michael

Much as we all dislike rhetorical bluster, the business world is full of it.

The discipline of management today is much like physics and the hard natural sciences were prior to the Scientific Revolution in the 17th Century. Full of half-thought through theories, based on little robust research, that appeal to the ignorance (by today's standards) of its practitioners.

It is only with hindsight that many of management's recent theories have been shown to be similarly lacking. In that category you can put many of the big management ideas of the last 50 years, from the economist's rational expectations theory, through the marketer's customer relationship management, to the manufacturers enterprise resource planning. If history is anything to go by, it is highly likely that customer experience management and customer-centricity will be shown to have fallen into equal disrepute in only a few years time.

Without a robust, empirically-tested, theory of management upon which to base decisions, we should not be surprised that simplistic notions like NPS are taken up with gusto by well-meaning but ignorant managers.

This is all part of the natural selection of ideas that drive much of science and scientific management forward. Management ideas are put forward and tested in the white heat of front-line business. The fittest ideas are adopted, implemented and extended by businesses whilst the weakest fall by the wayside. Maybe one day there will by a working theory of management.

Graham Hill
Independent CRM Consultant
Interim CRM Manager