The 1900s are behind us. A new century and a new millennium lie ahead. There seems to be a sense of optimism and enthusiasm within the global business world. But where will this new year lead us? Will we be able to keep pace with changing business climates and the challenges that will emerge?

In developing strategies for the future, we must not forget the past. How has American business management evolved during this last century? An analysis of our recent past can help us prepare for what lies ahead. Becoming a Master Manager: A Competency Framework by Quinn, Faerman, Thompson and McGrath succinctly details this history, then offers a management model for the future.

The early 1900s were a time of exciting growth and progress for most American businesses. Frederick Taylor, the father of scientific management, introduced a variety of techniques for ensuring efficient productivity within organizations. Business decisions were based on what would maximize productivity and profit. The works of Max Weber and Henri Fayol continued this reasoning. Their means-end assumption was based on a belief that routinization leads to stability. Management emphasized defining responsibilities, measurement, documentation and record keeping, with an efficient workflow being of ultimate value.

By midcentury, the effects of the stock market crash of 1929 and World War II had greatly impacted American businesses. Unions exerted a significant influence upon evolving management strategies by demanding that the needs of workers be considered along with profit and productivity concerns. Dale Carnegie's How to Win Friends and Influence People was a popular book during this time period. Researchers Elton Mayo and Fritz Roethlisberger produced the famous Hawthorne studies, which were interpreted as evidence of a need for an increased focus on the power of relationships and informal processes in the performance of human groups. Since these considerations were so opposite standard business practices of the day, early attempts at implementing them produced a sort of authoritarian benevolence within many organizations. The means-end assumption was that involvement resulted in commitment; key values centered on participation, conflict resolution and consensus building.

During the 1970s-1980s, American businesses were bombarded with new pressures - stagflation, huge government debt, the emergence of Japan as a major competitor and technological advances occurring at a spiraling rate. Managers found themselves in highly unpredictable environments with little time to organize and plan, often being forced to make rapid decisions. Organizational effectiveness often depended on adaptability and external support. In Search of Excellence, by Peters and Waterman, was one of many popular books that chronicled how successful businesses managed in a world where nothing was stable. Key processes, such as creative problem solving, innovation and the management of change, highlighted the importance of common vision and shared values within an organization.

As our century came to a close and these forces continued to escalate, management techniques emerged that no longer tried to fit within previous "either-or" decision-making thought processes. "Both-and" thinking, which recognized the paradox of simultaneously accepting two previously thought-of opposing views, became necessary for survival. Successful businesses needed stability and change, flexibility and control in order to compete in the global marketplace.

As we begin a new millennium, business managers have multiple challenges facing them. They need to understand and appreciate both the strengths and the weaknesses of previous management strategies as they face a rapidly changing world. It is easy to become trapped in one's own style and to try and employ similar strategies in a wide variety of situations. In reality, astute managers will recognize that each employee, and each situation, is different and should be handled uniquely, in some cases with completely opposite styles.

Becoming a master of paradox isn't a new 21st century idea, however. One of America's greatest 19th century leaders effectively utilized "both-and" management strategies. Donald T. Phillips, in his popular book Lincoln on Leadership, detailed a number of paradoxes that defined our 16th president's highly effective leadership style:

• He was charismatic, yet unassuming.
• He was consistent, yet flexible.
• He was the victim of vast amounts of slander and malice, yet he was also immensely popular with the troops.
• He was trusting and compassionate, yet could also be demanding and tough.
• He was a risk taker and innovative, yet patient and calculating.
• He claimed not to have controlled events, that his policy was to have no policy when, in actuality, he did control events to a very large degree by being aggressive, taking charge and being extraordinarily decisive.

Successful managers will broaden their thinking and use multiple mind-sets when viewing their organizational world, value behavioral complexity and integrate diverse competencies as they become 21st century leaders.

Teddi Treybig is the founder of Personality Dynamics, a training-and-consulting firm specializing in improving workplace communication. For additional inspirational articles visit http://www.ucg.org, the Web site of the United Church of God, an international association.