mushroom management 

A management philosophy prescribing to the theory that to best motivate your employees, you must at all times:

1. Keep them in the dark.
2. Feed them full of shit.

This form of management applies to every situation where management is involved. Be it passing on critical information to employees, or informing people of policy change and company announcements. The entire purpose is to be as vague and unresponsive as possible. The ultimate culmination and success of this management style can be found when people draw comparisons to management and a black hole. Where resources and information go in and nothing comes out.

Example of Mushroom Management:

Employee1: So you talked to management on our companies re-bid for the contract?

Employee2: Yea, but didn't get much. Management said there's nothing to report.

Employee3: How can that be? Our fucking contract is up next month, how can they not know anything?

Employee1: Don't ask me dude. Man I feel like I'm constantly in the dark and fed full of shit. Kind of like a mushroom.

mushroom management by Lance Baxter October 7, 2005

mushroom management 

To keep your employees in the dark, and every now and then throw shit on them.

mushroom management by farks_me September 18, 2003

mushroom management 

Keep them in the dark, feed them shit, and when they grow up, cut them off at the roots. (At least this is the way I remember hearing it in 1974.)

Yeah, ACR is a true believer in mushroom management.

mushroom management by Hot Licks November 1, 2015

mushroom management 

1. Mushroom Management

Restrict employee access to information and decisions (keep them in the dark).
When information is conveyed, it is incomplete, inaccurate, or full of marketing hyperbole (throw shit on them).

Large, hierarchical, process-bound organizations are frequently guilty of the most egregious forms of "mushroom management."

mushroom management by Karen O'Keefe October 28, 2004

mushroom management 

A way to manage tech teams working to an ill-defined task, described by Tracy Kidder as "Keep them in the dark, feed them shit, watch them grow" (in his 1981 title 'The Soul of a New Machine' about the people that built the first minicomputer at Data General).

As long as the outcome remains undefined, there's no way to hold them accountable for whichever result. You'd better apply mushroom management instead.

mushroom management by Nada Knicks August 5, 2022

The mushroom theory of management 

An old, time-honored management technique in large corporations.

1. Keep your employees in the dark.
2. Feed them shit.
3. When they grow up, cut them off at the roots.

The CEO of XYZ Corp is a big believer in the mushroom theory of management.

The mushroom theory of management by Hot Licks July 21, 2020