I’ve been asked whether management is one or the other. How we ask a question often blinds us to a useful answer. Management, like most aspects of running a business involves both.

My quick distinction is that the science of running a business includes the rules that apply to everyone (like take in more money than you spend, and provide value for customers). They generally keep you from exploding in some dramatic fashion. In a restaurant, these would be the health department regulations.

But to succeed takes more than not breaking the rules or keeping your food the right temperature and the kitchen free of bugs. You need some emotional appeal. That’s art. I guess you could survive without it, but you probably won’t be successful. Why? Your business depends on people. Customers are people, employees are people, you are people. And people don’t always behave in predictable fashion according to the rules. People are affected by emotion.

This distinction is more dramatic in small companies. Larger firms can’t talk to people individually and draw conclusions they can make decisions from. Small companies can. So large companies depend on statistical analysis and averages. That’s why in almost every industry the good stuff comes from the smaller companies not the large ones who are, well, average.

Takeaways:

• Don’t ignore the science – it will keep you from dramatic failure
• Most people don’t know the science of business intuitively – you have to learn it
• Don’t settle for the science, push for the art – it will bring you success
• Science / Art it’s not “either or”. It’s “both and”.