Brian Gongol Show on WHO Radio - August 3, 2014

Brian Gongol



Signs you're in an organization that might actually have a future

A good organization of any sort (business, government, non-profit, or otherwise) builds itself a framework that helps it do two things: That's why you can have businesses, for example, that look totally different from one another -- one with a rigid hierarchy, the other with a "federated" management style -- and yet they both perform well. The form of their decision-making may be different, but if the highly-structured organization is built around an efficient means for getting good information to the top quickly, it can do well -- just like the flatter structure may suit their competitor, if they dedicate resources to developing their people's ability to make good decisions at all levels. Ultimately, that's what matters today: We are not in a "knowledge economy", as so many people like to say. We are living in an emerging judgment economy. What matters is not so much what you know, but how well you can decide. Organizations that show some or all of the signs above are shaping themselves to be factories producing lots of good decisions, and that's the smartest way to organize in the 21st Century.

Back to truth-tellers, for a moment

It's easy to fall for the myth of the solitary genius -- Steve Jobs built an entire cult of personality at Apple around his personal style. But it's not sustainable; just look at how Apple has been struggling to find its identity again now that Jobs has passed away. The solitary genius might have been a key plot feature in Ayn Rand novels, but the really good systems seem to have arisen from circumstances where a strong figurehead has equally strong-minded partners, deputies, and lieutenants around who can provide a serious system of internal checks and balances. One of the major failures of the Obama White House (from a managerial perspective, not a political one) is that nobody wants to deliver bad news to the President for fear of getting shut out or disrupting the "No-Drama Obama" ethos. This bubble problem is different from wanting to sneak out for a milkshake or commune with tightly-controlled crowds. It's a matter of getting important feedback to guide the decision-making process, and if the President doesn't get it, that affects the performance of the entire administration. Delivering bad news (or just speaking truth to power) can be deeply uncomfortable, but it's essential to the decision-making process. Does anyone really believe that Vice President Biden has serious mano-a-mano talks with the President in which they have real debates?

Tin Foil Hat Award


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