“The more one learns about what it is that makes things adaptable, the more one is tempted to question the very foundations of modern management theory. After all, when compared to large companies, the most resilient things on the planet are significantly under-managed or, mon Dieu, even un-managed. A distressing thought for managers, perhaps, but an essential insight for those who are eager to build companies that are fit for the future.”
_____________________
“How do you discover radically better ways of leading, organizing and managing? The shortanswer: Youlookfarbeyondtheboundariesoftoday’s“bestpractice.” Youlook someplace weird, someplace unexpected. To glimpse the future of management, you must search out the “positive deviants,” organizations and social systems that defy the norms of conventional practice.”
_____________________
“Try to imagine what a democracy of ideas would look like. Employees would feel free to share their thoughts and opinions, however politically charged they might be. No single gatekeeper would be allowed to quash an idea or set the boundaries on its dissemination. New ideas would be given the chance to garner support before being voted up or down by senior execs. The internal debate about strategy, direction and policy would be open, vigorous, and uncensored. Maybe this sounds hopelessly romantic, but such a thoughtocracy already exists—not in any big company, but on the web.”
_____________________
“If you want to dramatically increase the quality of dialog—and decisions—in your company, you have to think boldly. What if your company encouraged people to write critical in-house blogs? (And allowed them to do so anonymously if they wished.) What if it encouraged employees to read and respond to those blogs? What if it tracked the number of responses each blog or post generated (its “authority index”) and required senior executives to respond to those that generated the most traffic? What if it appointed an employee jury to award a $25,000 prize each year for the best blog—as a way of rewarding the most thoughtful, amusing or courageous contributors?”
_____________________
“Many companies devote 5, 10 or even 20 percent of their revenue to R&D. Why not set aside a small share of discretionary funding for ideas that don’t pop up at the right time, or in the right place, to make it into the formal budgeting process? My guess is that a community of hundreds of mid-level managers spread out across a large company would, in the aggregate, make better investment decisions than a few folks in a corporate new ventures unit.”
_____________________