如何通过放权掌控全局

    但在配色方案、图形风格和字体方面，我保留了一票否决权——没错，我对设计有一点热衷。他们会提前把决定告诉我。这让我有机会定期了解项目进度，但又不会打扰到团队的工作。如果项目偏离了方向，我会提前知道。

    随着时间的推移，我在与管理者达成的“契约关系”中增加了一条重要的补充条约。对于任何我要求参与的细节，我承诺及时做出反馈（通常是48小时，甚至包括周末）。如果我没有按时反馈，意味着我放弃了以后推翻他们的决定的权利。

    我的管理层非常喜欢这个补充条款。这表明我尊重他们的时间和权威，也让他们对我有权一票否决的细节进行认真思考。如果我没有及时反馈，那便由他们自行决策。并且，因为我不会成为团队的阻碍，他们可以保持更高效的进度。在其他公司，员工就像人质一样，往往不得不无所事事地坐等老板来拍板，这让我很吃惊。每个人都要忍受这种情况的折磨。

    在我的职业生涯中，我能列出许多例子来证明“关注小事”的方法是有效的。其中一个例子是在互联网时代，公司计划为一次大规模产品发布会举行新品发布派对，正常情况下，这种活动应该由人力资源部或社交委员会组织。有人提出，我们可以在旧金山巨人队（San Francisco Giants）棒球场的豪华套房举办一场盛大的派对。但我不认同这样的想法。我们是一家生气勃勃的初创公司，不需要这种无聊的暴饮暴食，这是那些在经济上更加成功（也更无聊）的公司才会选择的方式。此外，一间套房只能容纳几十个人，这也意味着派对将是一场独家活动，而不是我想要的那种盛大的“朋友和家人”活动。

    因此，我决定密切参与活动策划。最后，我们买了100多张露天看台球票，租了一辆In-N-Out 汉堡卡车，在停车场举办了一场即兴的派对。美味的汉堡，冰凉的啤酒，活力四射，而且成本更低：派对非常成功，甚至成为公司未来举办活动的典范。之后，我决定将公司派对和培训，纳入我需要关注的细节之列。

    在大事情上给员工足够的自主权，但在一些小事情上参与细节的管理，这既能让我纵情于做好小事情的痴迷，又能使明星员工有出色的表现。我承认，通过放权来获得控制权，听起来有一些矛盾，但不妨尝试一下。你会发现，它对你同样有效。说到这里，希望这篇文章也不例外……嘿，这可不是我想要的字体！

    本文作者贾斯丁•基齐为在线视频教育平台Curious.com的CEO和创始人，该网站致力于推广终生学习。他也曾是网络主机服务商Homestead Technologies的CEO和创始人。（财富中文网）

    译者：刘进龙/汪皓

    But I reserved veto power over the color scheme, graphical style, and fonts—yes, I have a small design obsession. They included me on those decisions up front. This also gave me a periodic glimpse into the status of the project overall without nagging my team. If things were off track, I would know.

    Over time, I developed an important addition to this “contractual relationship” with my managers. For any detail which I requested involvement, I promised to respond with my feedback promptly (usually 48 hours, even including weekends). If I didn’t respond in time, I forfeited my right to override their decision later.

    My managers loved this addition. It showed that I respected their time and authority, and also led them to put serious thought into the details I had veto power over. What if I didn’t respond in time? Then they were on the hook for those decisions as well. And I could hold them to aggressive timelines without being a bottleneck. I’m astonished by how often employees at other companies are forced to sit idly, almost as hostages, because they are waiting for the boss to make the decisions. Everyone suffers from those situations.

    I can think of several examples in my career where this “sweat the small stuff” approach worked well. I remember the case of a launch party for a big product release during the dot-com era—the sort of event that would normally be planned by HR or the social committee. Someone came up with the notion that we should throw a blowout party in a luxury suite at the San Francisco Giants’ ballpark. But the idea felt wrong to me. We were a scrappy startup, not in need of the frivolous pampering that more financially successful (and boring) firms would choose. Plus, a box could only hold a few dozen people, meaning it would be an exclusive event instead of the big “friends and family” event I wanted.

    I decided to be closely involved with the planning. We ended up buying over 100 bleacher tickets, and renting an In-N-Out Burger truck for an impromptu party in the parking lot. Great burgers, cold beer, terrific energy, and way cheaper: the party was a success that set the tenor for all of our future company events. From that point, I decided to make the details of our company parties and retreats something I cared about.

    Giving my employees lots of rope on the big stuff, but getting involved in the details of a few smaller items, lets me safely indulge my obsession for doing the little things right while still allowing the star performers to do great work. I admit it’s somewhat paradoxical to gain control by giving it up, but give it a try. You might find it works for you as well as it has for me. Speaking of which, let’s hope this article is no exception… hey, this is not the font that I wanted!

    Justin Kitch is the CEO and founder ofCurious.com, a marketplace for lifelong learning. He is the former CEO and founder of Homestead Technologies.