Sunday, February 11, 2018

Organization v management


We organize with hierarchies; we manage through networks
 More or less, that idea is the theme of historian Niall Ferguson's book "The Square and the Tower".

Simply said, the orgainizing principle of bureaucracy is the hierarchy  -- span of control; process flow-down; interchangeable people (to an extent) such that no one is indespensible -- everyone ages out!

But effective management more or less ignores the organization chart. Effective management reaches and influences any and all who can make a difference.

Hierarchy is way too restrictive for effective management; it promotes stovepipes and "we/they" stresses that are not value-additive. And, it's one dimensional: command and control. Networks, on the other hand:
  • Are multidimensional: cultural, financial, personal, professional, political (and, all of the above)
  • Are fluid with circumstances
  • Respond to multiple cultures -- virtual, domestic, foreign, business
  • Convey power in multiple ways: real power (hierarchy); associative power (who you know, and how well you know them); cultural or personality power
  • Facilitate promotion: way more people get to know you  
"They" say: if you can't effectively network, you can't expect to be influential and consequential. "They" are probably right
 


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