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Principle # 2 - Managing in a Wired World

January 13, 2005 in Main Page | 4 comments

The second of 10 …

 
 
Principle # 2
 
The organization chart usually reflects power and politics in the organization … more often than not, customers and employees find work-arounds to create the experiences that delight
 
 
Most organization charts reflect an organizational design that is intended to deliver a strategy developed by a small group of people sitting on the top of an organization.
 
 
 
Evaluating and ordering jobs in terms of their size and importance is often used to implement the organizational design.
 
 
 
Most methods of job evaluation use factors, logic and language that was developed in the 1950’s and 1960’s – perfect for the Industrial Age, less than perfect for the interconnected Information Age.
 
 
 
Often, reporting relationships and chains-of-command get in the way.
 
 
 
Why do you think the Dilbert comic strip has been so successful for so long ?
 
 
 
Probably because people know that lots of time, energy and effort is expended keeping bosses happy – usually at the expense of customers.
 
 
 
Many managers aspired to, and spent the last twenty years, learning how to become “bosses”.  Do you know what prison guards are called by the inmates ?  You guessed it –
 
 
 

Boss

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January 13, 2005 at 3:26 pm

Anonymous

Jon: This is shaping up really well. I like the concise style - it should make a good Change This item!

January 13, 2005 at 4:52 pm

Anonymous

Thanks, Johnnie. How are ye … still kicking myself for not getting the chance to meet you when I was in London last year.

January 13, 2005 at 7:47 pm

Anonymous

Good thanks… no need to kick, I’m sure we’ll meet up eventually…

January 15, 2005 at 8:49 am

Anonymous

Nicely put, Jon. The pyramidal shape that’s become the standard for organizations is an industrial-age artifact that must be transcended if we’re going to rapidly produce the kinds of complex outcomes modern markets require.

Also, haven’t yet remarked on your comment on my blog re: language, pay systems, Jaques, etc. These are surely exoskeletal and circulatory systems that keep the pyramidal beast lumbering along right now. We’ll need to replace them to genuinely change the way org’s function. But where is the desire and imagination to do this to come from? HR? Please!