An old old problem: how to provide a balance between leadership and ‘ownership’ in your team or your workforce, optimising efficiencies and innovation simultaneously.
A distinction can be made between ’spider’ structures (strong centralised power in the ‘head’) and starfish structures (no ‘head’, distributed power, strong central ideology). The US government is a spider; al-Qaeda is a starfish. Spider groups have CEO’s; starfish groups have ‘catalysers’, facilitators skilled at harnessing the Wisdom of Crowds.
Practically speaking, a hybrid structure might be what suits. Brafman and Beckstrom’s excellent analogy holds true for the largest and the smallest groups. Highly recommended. Pick up Surowiecki’s ‘Wisdom of Crowds’ as well.
Ever read a business book in manga comic format? That’s what Dan Pink and the illustrator Rob Ten Pas have achieved, and it’s a cracker. Edgeware used the book as a discussion point at the first Upload Young Entrepreneurs Camp, and feedback was very positive. Here are Johnny’s six lessons:
1. There is no plan - the job for life is over
2. Think strengths, not weaknesses - winners are as winners do
3. It’s not about you - think customer, think service, think community
4. Persistence trumps talent - B grade idea with A grade execution always beats A grade idea with B grade execution
5. Make excellent mistakes - calculate risks, and if things don’t work out, it’s an opportunity to learn something
6. Leave an imprint - you’re not here forever. See (1) and (3)
A seventh lesson has just been added, voted in by Pink’s web tribe. It’s ‘Stay Hungry’, the meaning of which is fairly obvious, isn’t it? As if we had a choice!
Get RSS updates
