Why corporate org charts are bad
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
Office Politics and power equals anti supplier. This quite frankly is bad for business. Instead of limiting the talent in and outside of companies, consider bottom up communication.
This new approach literally turns corporate organization charts (org charts) upside down. The flow of information generally goes from CEO, VP, manager, middle management, and grunt work. Bottom up communications (BUP) starts its path from the grunt work to the CEO. Its a sort of grass roots approach. The functional purpose is to get ideas on the table.
An employee has a great idea, but needs clearance from his manager and a manager in another department to get the idea over departmental boundaries. That person can directly engage that manager and solve the problem. This contradicts the present model of hierarchies and organization charts in that traditionally the employee would be forced to navigate the branches in an org chart. This obviously depletes time and resources so we’ll consider this waste.
Perhaps the second best use of bottom up communication is that it allows companies to innovate using informal networks. BUP spurs informal networks inside and outside of companies. These informals can consist of employees, suppliers, customers, or other constituents. Typically an employee solves problems within the department or team and requests a manager’s assistance when needed. An informal network may involve a supplier a customer and a VP. A recent IBM podcast references innovation as accidental. It never happens on purpose and it usually doesn’t happen in a formal setting. Furthermore, for the informal setting to work, the right tools and stimuli must be present. This is where we really see how web 2.0 streamlines innovation.
This new decentralized informal means of communicating allows constituents to get their ideas to the right people in political campaigns. It lets you target non-consumption (long tail), and build influence with the people that matter the most.
Consider a the impeller, a spiral shaped propeller. UTNE magazine’s article state the design can move a million gallons of water in about 24 hours because of the shape using about the same amount of energy as a household lightbulb. Jay Harman, inventor of the impeller says it can improve the efficiency of freighters by almost 10 percent. With 43 billion in fuel costs yearly that roughly 4 billion dollars.
There could very well be many other Jay Harmans out there. They could be in research labs, the shower, or on the beach as he was when innovation strikes. BUC lets these individuals contribute and make sharing ideas easier. In plain english, it opens up a wider range of ideas for companies to develop.
This new approach literally turns corporate organization charts (org charts) upside down. The flow of information generally goes from CEO, VP, manager, middle management, and grunt work. Bottom up communications (BUP) starts its path from the grunt work to the CEO. Its a sort of grass roots approach. The functional purpose is to get ideas on the table.
An employee has a great idea, but needs clearance from his manager and a manager in another department to get the idea over departmental boundaries. That person can directly engage that manager and solve the problem. This contradicts the present model of hierarchies and organization charts in that traditionally the employee would be forced to navigate the branches in an org chart. This obviously depletes time and resources so we’ll consider this waste.
Perhaps the second best use of bottom up communication is that it allows companies to innovate using informal networks. BUP spurs informal networks inside and outside of companies. These informals can consist of employees, suppliers, customers, or other constituents. Typically an employee solves problems within the department or team and requests a manager’s assistance when needed. An informal network may involve a supplier a customer and a VP. A recent IBM podcast references innovation as accidental. It never happens on purpose and it usually doesn’t happen in a formal setting. Furthermore, for the informal setting to work, the right tools and stimuli must be present. This is where we really see how web 2.0 streamlines innovation.
This new decentralized informal means of communicating allows constituents to get their ideas to the right people in political campaigns. It lets you target non-consumption (long tail), and build influence with the people that matter the most.
Consider a the impeller, a spiral shaped propeller. UTNE magazine’s article state the design can move a million gallons of water in about 24 hours because of the shape using about the same amount of energy as a household lightbulb. Jay Harman, inventor of the impeller says it can improve the efficiency of freighters by almost 10 percent. With 43 billion in fuel costs yearly that roughly 4 billion dollars.
There could very well be many other Jay Harmans out there. They could be in research labs, the shower, or on the beach as he was when innovation strikes. BUC lets these individuals contribute and make sharing ideas easier. In plain english, it opens up a wider range of ideas for companies to develop.
Labels: bottom up collaboration, informal networks, management
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