Analyzing Two Different Views of ‘Next Management’
by Steve Denning, Heidi Musser, Hugo Lourenco

This article compares two different views as to how management might evolve. One view, hereafter called ‘Next management,’ is described in our article. “How To Transition To The ‘Next Management’”^[1]

The other view—hereafter called ‘humanistic management”–is presented in “Restoring Humanity to Management (and wisdom to intelligence)” by David Hurst.^[2]

Similarities

The two views are similar in important respects, all of which reflect a sharp break from traditional management. Thus both articles:

• seek to humanize management.

• view management as a moral activity, not just a technical one.

• view empathy as central.

• pursue a holistic view of the organization and its functioning.

• aspire to achieve a synthesis of old and new management.

• recognize that organizations today live in a context of constant change and flow. Relative stability is achieved by continuous adaptation to the changing context.

• emphasize the autonomy of individuals.  Both differ from the traditional view of management in which employees must be controlled by managers in hierarchies of authority. 

Differences

There are however significant differences between “humanistic management” and our concept of ‘Next Management’:

• ‘Next Management’ follows Peter Drucker’s advice to “look out the window and observe what is visible but not yet seen.”It presents the existing practice of actual firms that are already implementing the concept of ‘Next Management’, albeit with serious flaws and exceptions.By contrast, ‘humanistic management’ is presented as “an inquiry” that will require “a long slow process of reframing practice” inwhich “managerslearn to “toggle’, and switch seamlessly between ‘two modes of being.”It involves “practitioner relevance, immersed in events, acting forwards in real times and particular situations, searching for action possibilities.”

• While ‘Next Management” is something happening in the here and now, driven by the shortcomings of traditional management, as shown in Figure 2. By contrast, ‘humanistic management’ is presented as something that may emerge at some point in the future.

• ‘Next Management’ reflects a transition from traditional management that has already taken place in perhaps 20% of public firms (See Figure 2). By contrast, ‘humanistic management’ is “not a movement from one management canon to another: it is a dynamic synthesis of old and new, the traditional and the radical.” It points to managers as “restless seekers on shifting ground for the adaptive space, the ‘Goldilocks Zone’, between continuity and change.”

• ‘Next Management’ embraces the explicit goal” of creating value for other human beings. By contrast, ‘humanistic management’ has no specific goal and instead proposes an inquiry that “requires the questioning of chosen ends and their good for business and human society.”

Figure 1 Traditional management vs ‘Next Management”

• ‘Next Management’ embraces legendary Margaret Wheatley’s view that organizations are “living, dynamic, breathing systems with a life of their own,” not inert machines as in traditional management.^[1]  (See Figure 1). By contrast, ‘humanistic management” is viewed as something that will emerge from “theories of cognition and emotion.”.

• ‘Next Management’ recognizes that, as living organisms, all organizationsrequire a continuing inflow of resources to survive. ‘Next Management’ makes explicit that acquiring such resources should be the result of value creation, not the goal.  Humanistic management makes no reference to the need for resources to survive or how they are to be acquired.

• As a human activity in a rapidly changing context, ‘Next Management’ views continuing innovation as essential for the good of all stakeholders and the wider society.  In humanistic management, there is no explicit commitment to innovation. Instead, “practitioner relevance, immersed in events, acting forwards in real time and particular situations, searching for action possibilities.”

• ‘Next Management’ is pragmatic and views reality as created by action. By contrast, ‘humanistic management’ reflects a philosophy that reality is created by language. ‘Next Management’ is thus aligned with Goethe’s pronouncement, “In the beginning was the Deed’” rather than humanistic management which is aligned with the Biblical dictum, “In the beginning was the Word.”^[2]

• In ‘Next Management’, decisions are driven by right-hemisphere attention, values and narratives. with the support of left-hemisphere analyses, methods, and frameworks.  ‘Humanistic management’ argues that “leadership and management become verbs, activities associated with the twin dynamics of ‘empathizing’ and ‘systemizing’: dimensions of adaptive social settings.”

• ‘Next Management’ deploys Science, technology, engineering mathematics.  (STEM) as tools to achieve value creation for other human beings throughcreativity, innovation, games, playfulness, design, beauty, music, caring for others, curiosity, fulfillment, delight. and joy.  By contrast, humanistic management appears to present “Sports, Language, Arts, Music (SLAM) and The Humanities” as alternatives to “Science, technology, engineering mathematics (STEM)”.

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Conclusion: Parallel Exploration Of The Two Approaches

The most important difference between ‘humanistic management’ and ‘Next Management’, is that ‘Next Management’, presents real-life examples of firms already implementing ‘Next management’ with verifiable evidence of the quantity of value being generated and the quality of the staff engagement, as shown in Figure 2. By contrast, ‘humanistic management’ envisages any such examples emerging at some time in the future.

Thus the two approaches might be pursued in parallel, thus enabling learning from experience.

Note: To learn more about making the transition to the ‘Next Management’ in the here and now, join our workshop in Vienna on the day before the Drucker Forum, November 13, 2024 from 2.30 pm to 5.30pm.
  https://www.druckerforum.org/special-pages/ws-1-nov-13-2024/

About the authors:

Stephen Denning is a Senior Contributor at Forbes.com and a director of the SD Learning Consortium.

Heidi Musser is an accomplished Board member, Board advisor, and C-level executive who advises and leads businesses on modern ways of working, sustainable innovation, and enterprise agility to achieve competitive advantage in this next economic revolution.

Hugo Lourenço, founder of The Agile Thinkers, and co-founder of the World Management Agility Forum, is a leading global voice in Agile practices, dedicated to innovation and transformative organizational and management change, and commitment to human factors in team performance – NTECH skills.

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^[1] Denning, S. Musser, H,, Lourenco, H.: “How To Transition To The ‘Next Management” Drucker Forum blog; July 19, 2024, https://www.druckerforum.org/blog/how-to-transition-to-the-next-managementby-stephen-denning-heidi-musser-and-hugo-lourenco/  

^[2] Hurst, D. “Restoring Humanity to Management (and wisdom to intelligence); Drucker Forum blog, Nov 1, 2024 https://www.druckerforum.org/blog/restoring-humanity-to-management-and-wisdom-to-intelligenceby-david-k-hurst/

^[3] Wheatley, M. “Chaos and Complexity: What Can Science Teach?”  (1998) Keynote address.  OD Practitioner https://www.margaretwheatley.com/articles/Wheatley-Chaos-and-Complexity.pdf

^[4] McGilchrist, I. The Master and His Emissary, (2017) Yale University Press, page 342.