Without our routines born of experience we would never manage the complexities of work. But these routines, Geof Cox writes, are often the root of management evils. Comfortable routines are fine when the situation remains the same but may plunge us into confusion when things change.

We get older but we do not necessarily become wiser. We often cannot see any other way of doing things, pursue one method even when it does not work and end up not accepting the negative outcomes.

Managers with "extroversion" and "introversion" preferences, he writes, supply the greatest number of arguments and misunderstandings. We can miss over three-quarters of the information available on which to base decisions due to our own preferences.

The best problem-solving comes from balancing our way of doing things with those who favour a different approach - pooling our strengths and arriving at a new strength that combines both.

This balanced approach lies behind Cox's theory of "ready-aim-fire". A number of examples of the idea in action are offered.

Marcia's chip shop in Scotland is at one end of the spectrum - she resisted the age-old maxim "if it ain't broke don't fix it" and strived for continuous improvement to stay ahead of the competition.

At the other end of the scale, IBM's "speed team" evaluated best practice to make recommendations for the 100,000-strong group. Cox points out that "ready-aim-fire" in action means using a template as a guide to problem-solving, not following cast-in-stone rules that may not be appropriate for the situation.

Unfortunately for the eager manager, getting to grips with this theory is heavy going and that's before you grapple with the ubiquitous diagrams. Ready-Aim-Fire is quite well written and the examples are very clear, but the argument would benefit from erring on the side of clarity - less jargon, better aim.

jmulqueen@irish-times.ie