organisational chart

If the janitor tell us to use the blue door, not the red one, followed by a clear and compelling reason (no stairs, a four floor drop behind the red door), we'll follow the advice without a second thought.

That's how clear and compelling our company strategists shall be in their message.

If it's been snowing all night, a half eye out the window gets me going, shower will have to wait - out I go shovel in hand.

That's how my tasks should be received, as timely and clearly as a snowfall. No need to be told.

And I'm ready, the garage have tools for handling snowfalls, icy patches and the grass growing. Having some experience I've even got a leaf blower and battery charger.

That's how my working environment should be, easily accessible tools for all my needs.

To get anything done, to run my life, to participate in business I need three things:

- a reason
- a task
- tools and the right environment

Or in practice, in a business you need:

- People that will get the strategy right, just like any other task in the company, like the janitor keeping the driveway free from snowdrifts. An important task just like the clean driveway, otherwise the company will stop to a grinding halt.

- A well thought-out task distribution system that simply works. Tasks available to the right person at the right time. Just like water in the kitchen and electricity to the computers, not ad-hoc delivered by water-buckets, voltage-spikes or managers.
The task of "well thinking-out" is also called Business Modeling, a task in itself, a daily one so the business can get better at creating value and keep some for itself.

- People that will apply their experience for the benefit of others so that the right tools are available when needed and that the environment is the best possible at all times. A job we'll all pitch in at over time.

Note the lack of organisational hierarchies, charts and managers in the above set-up...

Comments

[Niko]

So IF the janitor doesn't do his job and the driveway is blocked, where do I find him without an org chart? :)

[sig]

Wow Niko, do you use org charts for that? I use mail, foot or chat :D

No seriously, that would fall under the second part - the good task distribution system. When expanding that a bit it would have to include transparency, although a snowy driveway would be kind-of-telling in this case!

Last you would say: If he's still slack, what then? Well, two things needed - a task group that does the legal work to fire and hire and good old peer pressure (see transparency again). Don't think the chap would want to stay for long after 567 employees have snow up their trousers and ruined shoes sixth day in a row ;)

[John Dodds]

The fact that I would have quibbled with your terminology and said that keeping the drive clear is a tactic predicated on the strategy of having the drive as your "access route" suggests to me that it's helpful to define strategy as simply and broadly as possible. That way, you maximise the proportion of effort devoted to productive tasks and minimise the analysis of minutiae.

P.S. Surely the inept janitor would be easy to locate - in the unemployment line!

[sig]

Hehe, John, empowerment, empowerment!

Empowerment to set local strategy - "create best possible physical work-space" could have been the janitorial strategy, thus the value delivered to include "dry shoes" for the employees... and then he failed miserably and became a pariah...

(As of now I'll do snow-shoveling-metaphors in the summer, must have hit a nerve that :D)

[Niko]

I knew this one was too easy. ;) Let's take another fun quiz:

Let's say I work in a company of 40.000 people. I've decided to use a part of my summer vacation early and I've reserved a week off. Now I realize I have some uncompensated over-time and I could spend that time instead of the precious summer vacation time to take the week off. I'm pretty new at the company and I do not know who handles this sort of thing. I do not know how the self-organized equivalent of an HR department prefers to refer to these different vacation days. Per your specs I do not have a manager, nor an org chart. How do I proceed?

[sig]

Niko, Niko - you know the answer of course:

Start the "vacation request" flow in thingamy and do not worry about it as the chap who set the flow knows who the task will be assigned to, obvioooooously. Duh. ;)