In other words, it's the minimum amount of the drug a person needs to take in order to achieve the desired result.
There is also a maximum tolerated dose (MTD). This is defined as the highest possible dose before the drug becomes toxic to the patient. In other words, the point at which the drug begins to do harm rather than do good.
A few years ago, I realised that management had drifted way beyond its maximum tolerated dose. Our efforts to help have in fact started to hinder. We're stopping people thinking for themselves, we're encouraging the wrong behaviours, and the costs in time and money far outweigh the benefits. This led me to thinking: what is the minimum effective dose for management? What is the minimum amount of management activity I could perform in order to get the results I need?
The result was a set of principles that make up what I call Minimum Effective Management.