When Something Goes Wrong, Command by Negation Can Get Your Business Back on Track
The following is adapted from Speed of Advance.
When was the last time something went really wrong in your business? Maybe a large piece of equipment on the factory floor suddenly broke, or worse yet, it broke when a key leader wasn’t immediately present.
What usually happens in these kinds of situations? In most civilian organizations, there’s an initial period of confusion as people say, “What do we do now?” Some might go looking for the boss. Others might ignore the problem because it’s not their responsibility.
In the Navy, this is almost never the case. In point of fact, if something goes really wrong in the military, you can’t afford to have people standing around wondering what to do next, especially when a leader isn’t present to give orders. As you can imagine, there are many scenarios in the military, particularly in a combat setting, where rapid response to unexpected problems is essential.
To deal with this, the Navy uses something called “command by negation.” In simplest terms, command by negation is a process in which every individual at every level is constantly trained and given the authority to act and react within their area. If something goes wrong, everyone knows what they’re supposed to do, and they have the authority to deal with the problem.
There’s No Time to Wait
Generally speaking, people assume the military functions by having officers constantly telling people what to do. In reality, the opposite is true. In fact, the beauty of command by negation is that most of the time, nobody has to be told what to do. They act and react according to instinct and training. This is absolutely essential if people are going to deal with evolving situations.
The Navy’s hierarchy is broken up into departments, which are then broken up into divisions, which are further broken up into work centers. Command by negation works in the military because of this hierarchy, not in spite of it, because, contrary to civilian perception, it isn’t a hierarchy of red tape. Rather, it is a way to organize responsibilities for maximum efficiency.
Think about it. If you’re in the middle of a war, you can’t always wait for an officer to tell you what to do next. You must have the training and authority to deal with a fast-moving situation.
Indeed, the reason why it’s called “command by negation” is because the officers negate some of their authority so that the people beneath them can execute freely according to regulations and training. Of course, there are limits to this. There are standing orders that everyone has to obey.
Within the standing orders, however, command by negation is always at work. For example, if an unknown aircraft comes within a certain distance of a ship, the crew has the authority to respond to the potential threat without having to seek specific approval in the moment.
Leadership at Every Level
The only time you have to seek specific approval from leadership is when you step outside of the rules of engagement or standing orders. Otherwise, you have your boundaries, and you make decisions within your specific area of responsibility accordingly. It’s leadership at every level.
This means that if something happens to a leader, the people under his command aren’t left scrambling. Everyone has been thoroughly trained, and they know their standing orders, so they simply fill the leadership void and continue to act.
No civilian company that I’ve ever encountered works like this. They may have some contingency plans, but people are rarely trained or drilled on them. In most cases, when something unexpected happens, people sit around and wait for someone in charge to tell them what to do. If there’s a serious injury, people are more likely to respond, but if it’s not an emergency, there tends to be a lot of twiddling thumbs.
People aren’t always empowered to deal with the situation, and they generally don’t have thorough enough training to react properly to the unexpected. Consequently, civilian organizations are less flexible and can’t respond well to change.
To change this attitude, civilian workers need both the training and autonomy to make decisions on the fly. You must instill the idea into every employee that they can and should react of their own volition to unexpected situations within their area of responsibility. Empower employees at every level to make decisions without seeking approval from the boss, as long as they operate within general guidelines.
For more advice on how to prepare your organization for unexpected situations, you can find Speed of Advance on Amazon.
Marty Groover is a partner in the Industry 4.0 practice of C5MI, a firm that optimizes operational execution through the creation of live supply chains. Marty leads functional and technical teams to solve manufacturing challenges by merging people, process, and technology. With more than two decades as a surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy, Marty is a recognized thought leader in the SAP partner base and is known for his extensive insight in production planning, lean manufacturing, and ERP systems.
