Good Monkey Management is key to good productivity, quality of outputs and work- life satisfaction, Poor monkey management is hell.
When I started as a manager many years ago, I was stressed and working unreasonable hours. On one particularly harried day, Prof Cameron took me aside and taught me an important life lesson about monkeys and management. I share it with you now in hope that it is helpful and brings you and your team clarity, productivity and joy.
He taught me “monkey management” as an approach to time and expectation management. A “monkey” is any task or job that takes time and attention. Monkeys require “food” (time and attention). If we accept a monkey, we accept responsibility to “feed” it (give it the time and attention needed to achieve the desired result). Some monkeys can be big and very hungry (take a lot of time and attention). Some monkeys can demand 5-star treatment (take a massive investment of time, resources and brain power). Some monkeys disappear on their own once fed (task completed and closed). Others take up residence in your office expecting to be fed again and again (task is on- going or routine). Some monkey hijack our food supply, causing other monkeys to suffer or starve (imbalance in allocation of time and attention resulting in missed deadlines and/or poor quality output for certain tasks)
When someone gives you a monkey, you can:
- FEED it (take responsibility for it and give it your time and attention until you’ve achieved the desired result),
- GIVE it away (acknowledge that the monkey needs to fed, but not by you. In this case, you can give the monkey back, or delegate it elsewhere for someone else to FEED. The objective here is to find a better match for this particular monkey), or
- KILL it (quash the task as unworthy of anyone’s time and attention. Whereas it sounds cruel, killing monkeys is an act of strategic mercy-- it protects time and attention needed to FEED other more important and useful monkeys.).
He warned me that one thing we must never do is NEGLECT a monkey (accept a monkey and not feed it). The last thing any of us wants is a bunch of monkeys running amuck, fighting for food (our time and attention), throwing poop (causing conflict and stress) and destroying our office (jeopardizing quality, missing deadlines).
Common causes of monkey NEGLECT include:
- accepting more monkeys that we can feed (taking on too much and getting overwhelmed and sabotaging the food supply for our other monkeys),
- overburdening other people with more monkeys than they can feed,
- over-caring for monkeys relative to their hunger need, e.g. cooking a 5-star menu for a monkey who just needs a banana (spending too much time and attention on something relative to its need and value-add. Think Pareto principle),
- failing to kill no-impact and/or high-maintenance / low impact monkeys and letting them drain your food supplies (spending time and attention on low value add activities at the cost of more strategic and/or important but not urgent tasks),
- failing to kill monkeys who have outlived their usefulness and letting them drain your food supplies (doing something out of habit that once served a purpose but is no longer helpful or a priority), and
- poor prioritization of your monkey feeding plan (poor self-management by wasting time in procrastination or unnecessary / unhelpful tasks and neglecting both urgent and non-urgent important tasks).
So, if you are feeling overwhelmed or dissatisfied with your work productivity and quality of outputs, it might be time to take monkey stock. If you are looking to cull the troop, here are some useful monkey stock-take questions:
- What type of monkey is it? [Feed – Give – Kill]
- If it’s KILL, why isn’t it dead yet?
- If it’s GIVE, why is it with me?
- What’s the purpose of this monkey? What’s its value-add?
- Which monkeys have served their purpose and are now ready to die?
- What type and how much food does this particular monkey need?
- Is there a way to change this monkey to make it simpler and easier to FEED?
- Who is best suited to FEED this particular monkey?
- If me, how will feeding this monkey impact on the care and food supply for my other monkeys? What must I do to accommodate this extra monkey mouth?
- If not me, who is? And why is he/she better suited for this particular monkey (e.g. time, skill set, synergy with other monkeys, etc.)? What’s standing in the way of giving it away?
- Honestly, am I trying to GIVE away a monkey because I am too scared to KILL it? Is that fair? Is that the best use of a finite monkey food supply?
- Which monkeys must I KILL for the greater good (improved productivity and use of time and attention)?
- If kill ready:
- Why has no one killed this monkey yet?
- What’s stopping me from killing this monkey here and now?
- What is it costing me / the team to let it live?
- If not kill ready, but overly hungry:
- What must I do to make it simpler and easier to FEED?
- How guilty am I of monkey neglect?
- How well am I feeding my current monkeys?
- How well am I doing with my menu planning (time management)?
- What monkeys do I risk neglecting if I waste time and attention on a KILL monkey?
Over the years, I have found this monkey metaphor helpful in personal stock take of my to do list and reflecting on how I spent my time.
As I wrap up, I am reminded of George Orwell’s satirical novel, Animal Farm. In the book he writes, “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” In this monkey time management metaphor, I say, All monkeys are NOT equal. Some monkeys need to die, and we are just too scared to kill them. Just because someone gives you a monkey, doesn’t mean that it deserves to live, or that you are the best person to feed that monkey. True wisdom lies in correctly distinguishing your monkeys and nurturing those that add value and do good.
It takes courage and insight to effectively apply the rules of monkey management. Happy hunting. Happy gifting. Happy feeding. All the best with time management, quality output and work satisfaction.
Staff Writer