love/hate
business, like life, is messy. here are some messy, hopefully disruptive thoughts that will get cleaned up some day...
the business environment should be more organic than organizational, but allow for inorganic growth and alliances. it should be more adaptable than hierarchical. more thoughts on this later, an example for now. Google appears to be good at both of these. Gee, wonder why they're so successful...? Check out the following article:
http://www.informationweek.com/management/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=192300292&pgno=4&queryText=
here's another:
http://www.baselinemag.com/c/a/Infrastructure/How-Google-Works-1/
now do it.
Goretex is good at this, too. Didn't find anything good online... will compile some data.
http://www.fastcompany.com/magazine/89/open_gore.html
here's a new one- FAVI - totally flat org
standard org charts should be changed, if they remain at all. at the very least the chart should be sideways to communicate that you serve people on both sides of your spot in the company. it would be interesting to see a spherical org chart with multiple different colored lines from each person linking all of their major business relationships. departments don't work either, but more on that later, too.
this isn't to say that no one should be a leader. leadership is still key, especially in what is traditionally seen as a project management approach. you should strive to be a servant leader.
http://www.leadershipinitiative.org/servant_resources.html
Robert Greenleaf www.greenleaf.org was/is very influential in this servant leadership realm.
but leaders should be able to come and go as their life and the business allows (organic and adaptable, remember?) people who are dedicated to climbing the corporate ladder long enough to get near the top have usually ruined most of their other life relationships to get there. is that really a trait you want in a leader?
develop people first, then systems (often around the strengths of the people.) this may seem counterintuitive, but systems are more adaptable than people.
don't develop people just for "your" purposes. taking a holistic approach to development and encouraging a person to make the right life decisions even when it could negatively impact "your" task at hand is key.
develop people that can develop people.
foster creativity and innovation, duh. http://www.innovationtools.com/default.asp
coopetition rules, old school competition is counterproductive. if you can't come up with a better product or fill a different niche in an innovative way, try again. there are plenty of unfilled needs out there and opportunities abound. sharing knowledge and working with your competition provides more benefit than risk if approached properly. if you don't do this, are you really serving your customer??? so... business should be open - www.wikinomics.com and www.clutrainmanifesto.com
for example, http://www.adafruit.com/laser/ provides their business plan and how-to's so you can start your own laser engraving business. no franchise needed.
http://www.anothersky.org/ Another Sky Press embodies innovative and purist business ideology - wide open. so hardcore it boggles the mind. how many people will actually "get" this?
business compliance is broken. here's a little write-up on the business compliance cycle. definitely still in its infancy.
true success in business involves providing something the customer really needs and will benefit from at a reasonable cost. it also requires that your employees/partners feel that they are part of a fulfilling, growth-oriented, and mutually beneficial relationship. it doesn't mean that everyone is always happy (that's impossible), but if your customers and associates aren't happy overall, it's not success. try again.
business and personal don't have to be totally separate. make your calling your business.
interesting thoughts on business that stirred up some controversy in '06 - http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/07/24/8381625/index.htm
http://money.cnn.com/2006/07/10/magazines/fortune/welch_defends.fortune/index.htm
http://money.cnn.com/2006/07/10/magazines/fortune/rule1.fortune/index.htm
A working master's degree? www.impm.org as long as you don't have to go to college to get it, i'm on board. not really. :)
(at least semi-)popular business books that seem ok and are on my reading list:
The Fortune at the Bottom of the Pyramid by C.K. Prahalad
First, Break All the Ruless by Marcus Buckingham
Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell
2020 VISION by Stan Davis and Bill Davidson
Bargaining for Advantage: Negotiation Strategies for Reasonable People by G. Richard Shell
Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement without Giving In by Roger Fisher and William Ury
Managers Not MBAs by Henry Mintzberg