Ducks in a Row: Juicing Culture
by Miki Saxon
Back in January I provided a link to The Mix (Management Information Exchange) and recommended that you register and read hacks of interest to you.
If I hadn’t done so it’s doubtful I would have heard about Ricardo Semler and Semco Group.
Since the mid-80s when Semler arrived on the scene, that has meant an ever-evolving experiment in upending the organizational status quo: no organizational chart, no fixed offices or working hours, no fixed CEO, no HR department, no five-year plan (or two- or one-year-plan), no job descriptions or permanent positions, no approvals necessary—and an endless array of clever practices and initiatives to increase individual autonomy and agency, participation at every level, trust, and informality.
The result? Market success—Semco is private but Semler reports average annual revenue growth at 40% and profitability. (…)
“We constantly talk about passion—serving customers passionately, filling in forms passionately—but what if we created the conditions for people to feel exhilaration, to get involved to the point they shout ‘yes!’ and give each other high fives because they did it their way and it worked?”
Would your people thrive in a going concern that functions more like a startup than most startups?
If yes, why? If not, why not?
Knowing why it would/does work is useful because you can share the knowledge and lessons learned with others.
If you don’t believe similar actions, tweaked for your organization, would work you need to ask why not.
You can ask your peers or, better yet your people, but first ask the mirror.
You may need to look no farther.
Flickr image credit: Cea
June 23rd, 2012 at 1:17 am
[…] sent you to The Mix in previous posts; they just posted the winners in each category and they are worth checking out. We launched the […]