CADDManager on May 30th, 2011
This entry is part 6 of 11 in the series Seven Functions of a CAD Manager

One of the things that I have listed among the seven functions of a CAD Manager is that they need to be controlling things.  Controlling can seem overbearing and annoying to people if it rings of some micromanaging person in your past.  Done right and it is motivating.  Done wrong and it is just annoying.

Let me expand on the definition.  Controlling should be controlled and not allowed to leak into every aspect of your work life.  If you are a controlling person, it is seen as dominating.  But if you control the things that tend to go out of control, then you will be appreciated.

Before we start defining what to control, let’s talk about why we need to and what needs to be in place.

We control things that tend to need improvement or maintenance.  Maintaining control over your sped in a car will prevent accidents and tickets.  Improving your gas mileage can save you money.  So even in this simple example, we see a need to control.  They way we control begins with Measurement.  We measure our speed with a speedometer.  We measure our mileage with gallons used per miles driven.

Measurement is critical to controlling.  Without it, how would we know where improvement or control is needed?  How would we measure our effectiveness in controlling?

Start measuring and tracking the areas you think need to be controlled.

So what needs to be controlled?  Here is my list:

  • Performance of People
  • Performance of Technology
  • Performance of Systems and Standards

I will cover these three items in the next few posts.

Series Navigation<< CAD Manager as CoordinatorCAD Manager as Controller – Performance of People >>

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