Thu 11 May 2006
Picked up a post Open Letter to CxOs across the corporate world by Pamela Sim on her blog Escape From Cubicle Nation from Guy Kawasaki (as many other people seem to have done).
In case you have not come across the post it explains why Pamela stopped trying to get large companies to change the way they interacted with their employees and started trying to liberate these employees from corporate life into the world of the entrepreneur.
After ten years, I give up. I was banging my head against the wall trying to find ethical, creative ways to train your employees on the merits of your forced ranking compensation plan. No amount of creativity could overcome the fact that it is a stupid idea and does nothing but create an environment of competition, politics and resentment. Whoever sold you on that idea was wrong.
Above, just a sample quote from many that I could have chosen. JP is on a similar train of thought (although the similarity may not be immediately obvious) in his latest post For Want of a Nay. And somewhat arrogantly (which is my nature) would claim that many of the posts in Accidental Light are my attempt to solve for myself the same problems. Also the comment from Son of Tony Banks talking about the Management by Walking Around style of Dave Packard in the 1940’s at HP. None of this shit is new.
Underlying all of this, in my opinion at least, is people trying through various ways to decrease the entropy in their organisation: releasing all the trapped energy not available for work to increase value. Entropy cannot be released by:
- Hiding people at the leaf nodes of a deep hierarchy (don’t think - you are not employed to think)
- From Pamela; forced ranking compensation plans (you are better off competing with your colleagues than you are adding value to the firm)
- Bezillion page specifications, work plans and GANTT charts (the world is subject to order because we are telling you it is subject to order - you have nothing to add to this discussion)
- Close typed power point presentations on strategy
Entropy can be released by:
- Trust
- Communication
- Respect
That’s all.
May 11th, 2006 at 2:43 pm
Malc - agree, that was a great post from Pamela. I’m tossing up sending it to my boss, but I don’t think my CIO is as “hip” to this stuff as yours!
Did you see her later post, which was an open letter to employees?
May 11th, 2006 at 9:31 pm
Not followed through on her posts yet but will certainly do so.
In general with this sort of stuff people either get it or they don’t get it. If they don’t get it not sure there is any point in trying!