"The secret of successful managing is to keep the five guys who hate you away from the four guys who haven't made up their minds."

Casey Stengel

By definition a micromanager is a meddler, a person who tries to extend his or her control beyond the bounds of reason, guidelines, or law. The word is a pejorative: it is always used to express criticism or disapproval.

To hurl the charge, "Micromanager!" at someone is name-calling. It certainly sounds better than denouncing somebody as a jerk, because it makes the accuser appear to be operating at a higher level than a frustrated three-year-old. Yet in practice it's generally the same. You hear an idea with which you don't agree--whether for personal or political reasons--so you berate the source of the idea.

For instance:

Mom to Child: Eat your vegetables.

Child: No!

Mom: If you don't eat your vegetables then you won't get dessert.

Child: Micromanager!

That's the basic form, but it's not so simple when adults inject this pejorative into the board rooms of corporations or school systems.

Over the past couple of weeks, I spoke to a dozen or so friends, acquaintances and experts on the subject, and one of them suggested that if there had been an equally corrosive term to counter the charge of "Micromanager!" perhaps the disasters of Enron and the Roslyn School District could have been avoided.

I'm not so sure, but I came up with a name anyway: Dronoid. Maybe once board members finish their name-calling they can get down to business.

This notion may be pure pie-in-the-sky. Still,  of one thing I'm certain: Spitting out, "Micromanager!" is not only an intellectually mangled attempt to block discussion in a board room, it also obscures the crucial task of governance. For those who believe that local control of public schools is important then this a subject that requires the utmost attention. For while you will hear a symphony of reasons from reformers who want schools to be more tightly controlled by government, the single most common factor that unites groups pushing this agenda is that boards don't practice appropriate governance.

How this plays out is better seen in video: I'm trying to review examples from several boards. My hope is to post them along with commentary and to invite people from the community, educators and board members (past and present, near and far) to add their insights and explanations

For now, though, I have to wait for my editing skills to catch up with my plans. I would have waited for that future moment, but I loved the Casey Stengel photos. I ran into the "old professor" at the Polo Grounds when I was a boy, and it was terrific seeing him again even if it was just in black-and-white.

Stay tuned.

"I made up my mind, but I made it up both ways."

Casey Stengel