I have found that Engineering Management Methods oscillate between two extremes, which I call Meritocratic and Colonial. This is a model I have used to predict corporate behavior, with frightening accuracy.
In general, the Meritocratic pursues overall product performance as the ultimate goal, while the Colonial emphasizes relationships as a path to success. Engineering management alternates between the two extremes on roughly 15 year cycles, although neither completely dies out.
In its simplest form:
Colonial : It's not what you know, it's who you know. Keep a low profile, keep your nose clean. Nobody ever got fired by picking IBM/Microsoft. Eliminate errors. Hire mules.
Meritocratic : Overpower the competition with technique, training and innovation. Peters Laws. Dotcom boom. Each of us is going to run a company someday. Reward innovation. Hire wild horses.
In 2010, Meritocratic had been falling out of favor for some time, and we were moving back into the Colonial management style. When Trump entered office, it began to shift back to Meritocratic.
I did a pretty popular article on this some time ago, which includes specific practical techniques to identify and optimize performance in each system.
Go to Full Article: Political Systems in Engineering