That Fatal Assumption is: if you understand the technical work of a business, you understand a business that does that technical work.

Every business is created by people and survives by benefiting other people. To understand how businesses work, you need a firm understanding of how people make decisions, act on those decisions, and communicate with others.

The Entrepreneurial Perspective asks the question: “How must the business work?” The Technician’s Perspective asks: “What work has to be done?

The. manager must never be lacking in knowledge of the special profession which is characteristic of the undertaking: the technical profession in industry, commercial in commerce, political in the State, military in the Army, religious in the Church, medical in the hospital, teaching in the school, etc. The technical function has long been given the degree of importance which is its due, and of which we must not deprive it, but the technical function by itself cannot endure the successful running of a business; it needs the help of the other essential functions and particularly of that of administration. This fact is so important from the point of view of the organization and management of a business that I do not mind how often I repeat it in order that it may be fully realized.

And we do that by making sure they understand the idea behind the work they’re being asked to do.

At the core, every business is a collection of processes that can be repeated to produce a particular result. By understanding how complex systems work, it’s possible to find ways to improve existing systems, whether you’re dealing with a marketing campaign or an automotive assembly line.

In business—every business—the bottom line is understanding the process. If you don't understand the process, you'll never reap the rewards of the process.

HOW: Some companies and people know HOW they do WHAT they do.

As with every phenomenon of the objective universe, the first step toward understanding work is to analyze it.

It reveals an understanding of what makes a great business great. It also tells us what makes all other businesses survivable at their best; intolerable at their worst.

You may not be in the tech business, but eventually tech will be in your business.

company needs to be able to articulate exactly what it does, whom it serves, and against whom it competes. Why? Because all employees should be made to feel like salespeople or ambassadors for the firm, and they cannot do this without a fundamental understanding of an organization's business. More important, without this understanding, employees cannot connect their individual roles to the overall direction of the larger organization.

What sets me and my organization apart is that we deeply understand how these business models work. And we have the time and patience to dismantle them, one piece at a time.

By the work one knows the workman.