The management tasks at most all firms are changing as this new century progresses. What used to be a clear and clean four-body style (CEO, Finance, Marketing, Operations) no longer works. Many attempts have been made to define just what is needed, and some pretty awful diagrams have evolved, most of which do nothing more than shuffle duties and tasks around to the point where no one has the authority, but everyone has the responsibility.

Over the years of helping small businesses tackle growth, and from helping large businesses understand and market to small businesses, I see the beginnings of a new management paradigm (all the gurus will love that word) that seems to be what is required to move on into 21st Century management. Here are my views of the positions and the major tasks of each player.

OVERVIEW
Management in the 21st Century will gradually evolve to a new five or six-body tightly-knit team: the CEO or boss, the MARKETING manager, the FINANCIAL manager, the INFORMATION manager, the OPERATIONS manager, and possibly the CUSTOMER SERVICE manager. What will be different in this new system will be what these people will need for skills, to whom they report, their responsibilities, and exactly what they will do.

CEO
The CEO will be a high-profile schmoozer with the incredible skills necessary to get along with the outside world. This position will report to and take direction from the owners of the firm through the Board of Directors. The first critical task will be to take the Board’s concerns and directions to the rest of the firm, see that they are implemented, and report back. The second critical task will be to select and retain good people for the other four (or five) jobs. The third critical task will be to create and manage an administrative staff to cover the firm’s major functions such as legal, human relations, public relations, customer service, quality assurance, compliance, and the like. The CEO will be the scapegoat in case of any failures, and job retention will hinge on what the owners feel at the moment.

FINANCE
The FINANCIAL manager will have his or her head deep in the financial dealings of the firm. The top tasks will include identifying sources and producing the reports the CEO needs to justify actions taken to comply with the Board’s directions; and to build a staff that controls billing, collection, receivables, payables, fund management, capital investment, tax compliance and control, and all the other financial dealings of the company. Job retention will hinge on the ability to provide and prove figures, sometimes on an instant demand cycle.

INFORMATION
The INFORMATION manager will need to have unbelievably complex computer knowledge and the ability to use last-year, current, and next-generation technology in a cost-effective manner. In addition, the position requires the ability to build a technical staff that can act and react almost instantly to the changing needs of the firm. The position will report to the CEO, but the person has the critical duty of gathering information from everywhere, and quickly responding to the reporting needs of the other managers and the CEO with quality information. The key words will be "quickly" and "quality". Job retention will hinge on the ability to accomplish this task.

MARKETING
The MARKETING manager will be responsible for obtaining and maintaining the customer base needed to meet the goals of the owners as passed to the CEO. This position requires customer schmoozing skills as well as hard-headed productivity skills. This position covers everything related to meeting revenue goals set by the owners, relayed through the CEO, and includes all sales and related activities. Job retention does not depend on sales, but on net revenues.

OPERATIONS
The OPERATIONS manager will be responsible for producing the product at the least cost while maintaining high quality. This position requires an extremely high level of people skills to ensure retention of quality employees, along with the more traditional management skills of dealing with production, suppliers, and similar tasks. Job retention will depend on producing the products and services of the firm identified as necessary for growth in the most cost-effective manner while maintaining the desired quality.

CUSTOMER SERVICE
In smaller firms the CUSTOMER SERVICE manager will occupy a staff position under the CEO and will not be free-standing. However structured, this position is critical to the firm’s success. The position requires a super schmoozer assuming the role of the often-talked-about and seldom-implemented role of ombudsman. Responsibility will be for cutting through red tape to solve customer/supplier/company problems. The position will have CEO-like authority over other managers. Job retention will depend on the ability to satisfy customers and suppliers without disrupting the firm and without major costs to the firm.

(NOTE TO EDITORS: PLEASE INCLUDE THE FOLLOWING.)
Paul Tulenko is a Small Business Success Consultant based in New Mexico. Additional tips and suggestions are available at www.tulenko.com or call (toll-free) 1-866-TULENKO.