As a kid, I managed to watch every single episode of Andy Griffith. As an adult….I repeated the experience about fifteen times per episode.
I look back at all the attempts the Air Force made in training me to be a manager or leader….and the truth be known….the ‘Andy School of Management’ probably had more success than any of the Air Force’s attempts.
I went through around half-a-dozen University of Maryland and Louisiana Tech classes in management skills….and none came within a mile of the ‘Andy School’.
How can this be? Well….the Andy method was to approach each person with a slightly different view of their situation. What works with Barney….just doesn’t work with Aunt Bee. What worked with Opie….could never work with Gomer. So you have to really start to know people….their vision….their problems….their attitude….their personality conflicts.
The Andy method requires that you start with a full-gallon of patience. If you lack patience, then the method will never work. You are basically walking out to the pond with a two worms for the entire day….and hoping that just one of these will be enough to do the job and bring a fish home.
The Andy method dictates that you prioritize problems. You can’t fix fifty in a day. You fix the most important stuff, and then leave the rest for tomorrow. Unless you were intending to depart the Earth in a pine box tomorrow….there’s no reason to rush.
The Andy method requires you to fix what you can fix, and for those problems with no fix possible…..you accept it. Don’t whine. Don’t drink yourself into a fit for the next ten years over what you couldn’t fix or accept. It’s a done deal….either it’s fixed or you learn to accept it.
A leader over difficult people with impossible personalities? The Andy method is simple….you bring them in….and have an eye-to-eye chat. The amount of pain or woes or terror they are inflicting on your team or group…isn’t going to be accepted. You show a slight grin as you announce this to them….as if in a poker game and you know the cards in your hands and theirs. Then you give them an indicator of friendly persuasion. You want them to proceed to a middle-grounds of sort. They need to come up for a bit of fresh air and grasp that most folks just aren’t buying into their act anymore.
The Andy method dictates little acceptance of gossip or its pretended value.
The Andy method meant two minutes of friendly chat with folks...to give them the time of day and at least offer to console them on a tough afternoon or a rough morning.
The Andy method requires seriousness at times...but can flex to meet a situation with a bit of humor or a moment of wit.
The Andy method isn’t precise. Sometimes….you just have to take a fishing pole and hope for a natural answer in the end.
So when you’ve tired of all the various methods of management….and you’ve got problems that need a different approach….maybe it’s time to pull out the Andy method and see if a different approach works.
