The One Management Truth

"The manager's role is to clear away the obstacles to doing the job so that people can be as productive as possible. It is a role of service and support for the people who do the work, for the truth is that managers don't do the work. Managers facilitate work and get it done through others. Indeed, none of the productive work of any organization is done above the supervisory level. Under those circumstances, it is silly to have workers serving the needs of managers. It clearly must be the other way around."

Roger D'Aprix, Communicating for Productivity, 1982.