There are two things I hate.  One is “management theory.”  The other are meetings.
 
Regarding management theory:  I’ve been in business nearly 25 years.  No, I’m no genius, and I’m not as rich as Steve Jobs.  But I have learned that good management theory is nothing more than good common sense.  Example:  Know your market and tailor your product accordingly; hire good people and treat them right; get to work and don’t waste any more time on meetings.
 
Regarding meetings:  Dumb management theory generates long, boring, meaningless meetings,  90% of which should never take place.  Too often, managers call them because they have no idea what to do about a situation, so they bring together others who are just as clueless, so they can all bump around in the dark together. 
 
Okay, some meetings are necessary.  So, when you have no other choice but to hold a meeting, do the following:  Define EXACTLY what its single purpose is … in advance; politely (or not) cut off anybody who meanders off topic; limit it to 15 minutes; start on time and end on time; walk out the door when the 15 minures are up.  If there is no group concensus, make a decision based on what you have learned in the meeting … and then just do it. 
 
The bottom line:  Most management theory and most meetings have one outcome: They destroy initiative.  When I worked in a corporation, I was ready to dig into the week on Monday morning.  Unfortunately, the entire editorial staff had to endure the 3M (the two-hour Monday Morning Meeting), during which we all had the opportunity to bore each other spitless talking about (A) what we had done the week before and (B) what we were going to do this week. 
 
Work hard.  Make money.  Have fun.  (Note:  I did not say: Have meetings)  –
John R. Ingrisano
 
“All management theories become conspiracies
against good management and serve mainly to
cover the manager’s ass.”
    –    T. George Harris

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