Management is a skill that should be acquired by everyone who relates to other people. The very idea of letting a pilot fly an aircraft without a pilot’s certificate seems ludicrous. Nevertheless, managers are given the task of leading other people even if they do not have any management training. What’s more - managers are often so busy trying to handle their day-to-day working life as professional specialists that they do not even have the presence of mind to feel guilty about failing to live up to their role as managers. This applies to some senior hospital doctors, architects, professors, IT managers, chefs, master builders, accountants, etc.

So what does it take to manage a company or an organisation to achieve good, lasting results? Do any universal management principles even exist? The answer to both these questions is "YES", says Claus Møller. Approximately every third year, a new management principle comes into fashion, and most people adopt it immediately in their organisation without even knowing why – except not to seem old-fashioned. It is interesting to note that the organisations that achieve the best, lasting results are the ones that, at an early stage, set up some clear and simple management principles, make sure that everybody knows their role and the rules for getting a yellow or a red card – and stick to these principles instead of jumping from one management fashion to another.

In this article Claus Møller, the founder of TMI, argues that the prerequisites for achieving good results are not just professional skilfulness, professional business excellence, but also general business excellence.