It used to be that projects got done, diseases got cured, and problems got solved. Now everything is managed.
The shift in vocabulary betrays the underlying attitude of the manager - he who manages something doesn't actually want it to have a definite ending. The perpetuality of the managed also ensures a continued role for the manager.
Thus in managing, we are actually seeking the Confucian Middle Way - don't let the thing spin out of control, but don't resolve it completely either.
Yet we fool ourselves by brandishing slogans such as "striving for excellence", "top quality" and "value for money".
If I have to rewrite a generic core value for today's large organisations, it would be something like this:
"Striving for mediocrity - tolerable quality at a grudgingly acceptable cost!"
