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In his book Fueled by Failure, entrepreneur and philanthropist Jeremy Bloom shows readers how rebound and reprogram themselves after defeat and how to use the lessons from those failures to achieve winning results. In this edited excerpt, the author offers tips on developing your management skills and finding the right employees for your business.
When it comes to managing your team, should you choose top-down or bottom-up management? Top-down management, as the name might imply, means that everything starts at the top and works its way down to the next level of managers, then down to the team. While this style has been effective in some industries, utilizing a single vision and pushing it downward through the ranks can also alienate people on your team who don’t feel they have a say in how things get done. Top-down can also lead to a lack of motivation among employees because they don’t feel enough ownership or input in their work and the goals of the company, which usually reduces productivity.
One reason the bottom-up approach to management is growing in popularity is because people naturally like to feel that their opinions are heard and valued. In such environments, team members feel more connected to the company’s mission and empowered to help influence outcomes rather than blame management for the inefficiencies inside the business. As a business leader, I try to follow a management style that's fully transparent, bottom-up, and respectful of all involved.
