Volume 15 Number 3 • 2002

Managing the Space Between

By Katherine Carol, Tango Consulting, Denver Colorado

The space between what? I am talking about space that lies between ideas and implementation, between war and peace, between having a vision, living a vision, and this moment’s reality. It is the space between fear and security, between last year’s best practices and next year’s breakthroughs, and between you and me.

For those of us who are goal oriented, procedure driven and a bit taken with process, we find today’s ambiguity and constantly changing management landscape perplexing. Where do we put our energy? What are our priorities? How do we deal with yesterday’s events, complete today’s “to do” list, and build tomorrow’s future?

The space between is where power shifts and transforms, it gathers and then releases, even sometimes surging in dramatic events. We are constantly in the space between—for getting there quickly, in terms of a goal or project, is challenging because there becomes irrelevant almost as quickly as it is defined. Managing the space between requires flexibility, ingenuity, greater awareness, and constant clarification. We need to know what is going on today and look for what are the winds of change stirring up for tomorrow.

The space between recession and recovery, between tragedy and healing, is the time to evaluate what goes and what stays. It’s time to lighten the load, evaluating all of our management activities. The place to start is by clarifying our values. What is the important work—what is important at work? Discarding outmoded business practices, building stronger relationships where trust grows and people can count on each other are musts in times of chaos and uncertainty.

Defining a new sense of loyalty and security are the building blocks for building germane and timely systems. Managing the space between is about being relevant. Observe the current landscape. Move towards flexible, compact organizations able to withstand the impact of economic and cultural shifts without sustaining damage. This is a great approach towards sustainability.

In this space we begin to evaluate how time and money are being used. Answer these three questions:

1. How do I/my team/my organization spend time and money?
2. How am I/my team/my organization saving time and money?
3. How am I/my team/my organization investing time and money?

As a manager, think about where your time goes. If most of it goes towards managing today’s latest crisis—how are you saving time or money? Usually, we save for future unexpected expenses or for future acquisitions or events. We plan or we protect when we save. If our days reflect only spending, what will we have to show for our efforts other than another crisis—we are in effect setting up the next one.

In the space between the past and present, investment strategies are crucial. A recent Wall Street Journal article stated companies who invest in recruitment and training now in the downtimes will be the first to flourish when the turnaround arrives.

How do we utilize this time to invest? We know effective investment strategies include small, systematic contributions that pay off big over time and leverage resources to make rather dramatic gains.

Investment ideas for managers include:

• Tightening up recruitment and retention activities.
• Building a solid in-house coaching program.
• Doubling or tripling the number of personal and professional contacts.
• Knowing those contacts well and following up frequently.
• Finding quiet time to reflect on your vision for your future, your team’s future.
• Investing in learning—what will be the new skills you will need this year.
• Becoming aware of new technology applications (e.g. Blackberry’s, Palm Pilots, Wireless, the New Windows XP, Digital Media, DSL) with an idea how this needs to fit in your job and life.
• Having a personal/professional growth plan.
• Continued management training.

As we have said, the times—they are a changing, and so must we. Getting out of debt (time debt as well as financial debt) and moving from crisis management to investment management is a must!

Remember the definition of insanity is: doing the same things over and over again and expecting different results.

For examples of great companies who understand and practice these strategies consider checking out the following web sites: www.containerstore.com, and www.cisco.com.

For more strategies on how to implement your management investment plan, you can reach Katherine Carol at Tango Consulting at
(888) 706-0176 or kcarol@cnmnetwork.com.