I’m not the first person to suggest that understanding why anything is done should be the driving force in an endeavor. Well known names such as Steve Jobs and Simon Sinek come to mind as two important figures in our society who have declared why as a prerequisite to success.

Organizations are containers within which people of varying disciplines practice their trades. Organizations are names on paper in a courthouse or law office. Organizations are only as effective at delivering results as allowed by the people that comprise it.

While working with a client on the clarification of a job description, the conversation turned to expectations of outcomes. "How much of what by when" type of outcomes along with the systems used to generate them.

Writing in a previous issue of Business Week, McGill University Management Studies Professor Henry Mintzberg laments that today’s organizations are over-led and undermanaged. Professor Mintzberg says that . . . “we should define ‘leadership’ as management practiced well.”