Here’s your chance to compare what you think to the top 10 list of important management topics developed by this elite group of professors. Give yourself 1 point for every topic that would be on your list, give yourself an additional point if you or your organization is actually addressing the topic.

The human issues involved in managing change.

Whether the economy is strong or weak, business is big or small; business is good or poor, change continues to be a dominant and important management topic. The human issues and business challenges involved when managing change can be overwhelming.

The human issues that encourage effectiveness and efficiency in teams.

Team effectiveness and efficiency, according to the professors is also a powerful topic. Based on our work, it is clear that position power or authority to get things done is no longer as effective as personal relationship power for inspiring individuals and teams to higher levels of accomplishment.

How to decipher corporate culture and use it.

With every group of people there is a culture. If you can read it and work with it, you can achieve greater results. There are tools available to decipher culture and with modest effort, anyone can learn to remove the mystery and make group culture one of many assets available to further one's goals.

The fundamental principles of human motivation.

Unfortunately many managers believe that motivating others requires a "jump for the jelly-bean" program, when in truth, human motivation is so much simpler than that.

The core functions of focused management.

Role ambiguity is, in my view, a desired situation for senior executive level assignments. However, when roles become ambiguous anywhere in the organization, or with a team, workgroup or individual, productivity drops like a stone.

Understanding and developing individuality in the organization.

Twenty years ago this topic would have been laughed at. It certainly wouldn’t have made a top ten list. Yet, it is a topic that is growing in importance. People want to know that they are important and are making an important contribution to the organization.

The creation, management and evolution of workgroups.

We’re seeing far too much wasted time, talent, energy and money in organizations today because they throw people together and "challenge" them to "sort it out". Too bad, because there are systems available.

How to achieve breakthrough results through targeted motivation.

Every senior executive knows there simply isn’t enough money or resources available to do all the strategic things that need to be done. We need incremental improvement everywhere, but quantum leap improvements in areas of strategic importance.

Creating professional relationships. Processing information and making decisions.

This topic was put into our training programs about 5 years ago. Getting things done inside/outside the organization is based less on position and more on rapport.

The core principles that drive or hinder performance.

WIIFM (What’s In It For Me) radio station that plays in everyone’s mind. Learn to address the WIIFM of your workforce or learn how to lead a cynical employee group.

The editors of the Management Masters Series have done a superb job soliciting the co-operation of professors from 12 leading business schools. Jack Welch of General Electric said: "We know where competitiveness comes from. It comes from people."

How did you score? Which of the top ten important management topics do you agree with? Which ones are you actually working on? Whether you scored high or low, the key is, are you addressing the right management topics for your business? If you don’t, will your competition be addressing them?

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Copyright 2000 © Sid Ridgley