It takes time away from real work without making that work significantly easier to accomplish. It is frequently used as a tool of control by managers who want t

It takes time away from real work without making that work significantly easier to accomplish. It is frequently used as a tool of control by managers who want to be in charge, thereby defeating its own reason for existence. The terms and practices tend to be hokey and faintly demeaning. The problem is not the specific body of techniques used to schedule tasks and manage time; the problem is the way that the hierarchical nature of traditional management structures diminish agency and discourage transparent communication. This leads to misapplication of effort and destroys motivation, crippling productivity. Empower people to act responsibly and they generally will. Exercise empathy and people will trust you. Give people the information they need and they will reciprocate. Agile development was an attempt at doing these things better, but it has been reduced to a collection of code words and empty rituals by managers who don't realize that it is actually their philosophy about the purpose and nature of management itself that needs to change, and not merely their choice of techniques.