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FLAT - the eBookHow to fuel innovation, speed, and culture without managers

http://adhesive.co/flat-the-ebook/

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• Intro• Leaders vs. Managers• Commitment Loop• Client Letter of Commitments (CLC)• Alignment• Hiring, Firing, Compensation• A Culture of Process• The Goodie Box • Conclusion

Chapters

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Our founding fathers didn’t set their sites on making a better monarchy, they sought to supplant it

Freedom

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• Most important factor to workplace satisfaction

• We want to do things our way • If you want “A-Players”, you have to

provide it

Autonomy

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Responsibility is freedom’s twin

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• The new battle that our country faces to remain a competitive force hinges on creativity and innovation

• Today’s most creative and innovative companies recognize this

• Their future hinges on developing cultures of freedom and choices to foster innovation

Autonomy

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Leaders vs. Managers

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“Management did not emanate from nature, someone

invented it. Management is great if you want

compliance, but if you want engagement, self-direction is

better.”Dan Pink, author of

Drive, The Surprising Truth About What Motivates

Us.

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Natural leadership is defined by natural followership

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• Managers don’t lead companies, leaders do

• People don’t leave companies, they leave managers

Leaders vs. Managers

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Typically, key positions often go to those who are the most politically astute vs. the competent

Leaders vs. Managers

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Power is ‘sticky’

It doesn’t typically flow from an individual who is less capable to someone that’s more

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Typically, key positions often go to those who are the most politically astute vs. the competent

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When you take out the pyramid, you drain most of the poison out

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Commitment Loop

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The core of a flat structure is making and keeping commitments

Persuade vs. Dictate

Commitment Loop

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3.) If needed, negotiate a new commitment if you can

4.) Meet the commitment

1.) Colleague asks you for a commitment

2.) Agree on a Commitment

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Keeping commitments creates economic value and makes you as an individual and the enterprise you work within more valuable

Commitment Loop

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• A goal is something you aspire to achieve

• A goal is NOT a commitment

• Consistently making and keeping commitments is the core of being flat

Commitment Loop

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Making a commitment should be voluntary

Nobody should have the ability to force a commitment

Commitment Loop

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Client Letter of Commitments (CLC Doc) Pronounced Click Doc

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• Clients are internal and external• Document that outlines key

commitments • Commitments happen every day

that are not in a CLC• Not a list of goals

Client Letter of

Commitments

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Commitments go well beyond what’s in a CLC doc

Any time you say your going to do something and when you’re going to have it done by, it’s a commitment

Client Letter of

Commitments

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Client Letter of

CommitmentsIn-Practice

• Include commitments to core values• Utilize technology to ensure current

and trackedWe utilize Confluence from Atlassian

• Always include dates• Must be objective

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Client Letter of

CommitmentsIn-Practice

• Google’s process for establishing quantified objectiveshttp://tcrn.ch/1lv5AUx

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Alignment

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Alignment

• Key to establishing consistency• Top of the food chain is alignment to

company values• Mission and vision statements• Financial objectives• Purpose

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Alignment “Make meaning!” – Guy Kawasaki

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Alignment

If autonomy is the #1 element that A-players need to be happy, purpose is a close second

Create alignment and drive by answering the questions; “Why are we here? What is our purpose?”

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Hiring, Firing and Compensation

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HiringFiring

Compensation

• No single person can carry a hammer (fire someone)

• No individual can change your compensation

• No coercion• Persuade vs. dictate

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HiringFiring

CompensationIn-Practice

• Colleagues should be encouraged to work out issues with their colleagues on their own whenever possible

• If a colleague has an issue with a fellow colleague that cannot be worked out, they can ask for mediation

• Colleagues cannot meet with a mediator on their own to discuss issues about a fellow colleague

• Use of a mediator should be a last resort, not a first one• Mediators should provide input and advice on the situation

and request that the parties work out their difference• If both parties cannot agree, then a second mediation will

take place with 3 or more mediators• Mediators will make a final ruling that all parties must agree

to

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Exceptions:

If you feel in danger, threatened or harassed you will not be expected to have a group mediation

If it’s proven that someone is threatening a colleague, causes them harm, engages in illegal activities or harassment, then a senior leader in the company could immediately dismiss them if they find merit in the accusations and bypass the mediation process

HiringFiring

CompensationIn-Practice

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What is a Commitment Mediation• Colleague not meeting agreed to

commitments• The perception that a colleague is

sandbagging on their commitments• Colleague not agreeing to

commitments that are reasonable for the role they’re in

HiringFiring

CompensationIn-Practice

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Commitment Mediation • There must be 3 mediators in attendance • Meeting will take place ASAP• The mediators are there to review facts• Colleagues have the burden of proving that a fellow colleague has

not met their commitments• Only objective commitments are reviewed • What are some of the things you can you expect

• Guidance from the mediators and a request that the individuals continue to work out their differences

• Possible termination• A recommendation that a colleague take a new position in the

company that might better fit their skill level

HiringFiring

CompensationIn-Practice

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Mediators should be senior leaders in the company that have experience in dealing with conflict resolution

Mediators should be chosen by the organization and will include a process by which they become mediators

HiringFiring

CompensationIn-Practice

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Compensation Committee• Includes senior most leadership• Every new colleague and existing colleagues compensation must be

produced and agreed to by a majority of the comp committee • Pay will be a reflection of the following:

• Market data • Commitments and ability to meet them

• At any time, a colleague can request that the comp committee review their current pay and commitments and ask for a comp review based on the fact they have increased their commitments or the market has changed

• Encourage colleagues to bring offers to the comp committee

HiringFiring

CompensationIn-Practice

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A Culture of Process

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• Processes are sequences of procedures that create value for your clients (internal or external)

• Processes add strategic value• Documented processes are key to a

self-managed organization

A Culture of Process

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• Rules are not process• Rules are typically in place to help

prevent individuals from making mistakes

• Rules stifle innovation and creativity• A culture of rules will drive A-Players

out

A Culture of Process

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A process mindset thinks beyond individual quirks, personalities and conflicts

A process culture values its processes and seeks independence from individual knowledge and ‘turf’

A Culture of Process

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An enterprise with a process mindset will always have a strategic competitive advantage over an organization that doesn’t – because a process culture leads to continuous improvement

A Culture of Process

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• Utilize technology to create and maintain process descriptions

• Must be current, updated and trackedWe utilize Confluence from Atlassian

• Anyone can change or cause change to a given process (Toyota employee stopping the production line)

A Culture of Process

In-Practice

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The Goodie Box

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Titles• We allow individuals to create the title

that best describes their position• We do not allow director, VP or other

title descriptions that point to hierarchy

The Goodie Box

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Time Off• It’s up to each colleague • We do not track time off• Most of the time you have to force A-

Players to take the time• We also don’t ‘pay-out’ when an

employee leaves for not taking vacation time – defeats the purpose of time off

The Goodie Box

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Reviews• Nobody likes annual or semi-annual

reviews• We don’t do them• Foster regular communication• Market (or market+) based pay• 360 reviews are great for feedback on

growth opportunities• Should not be used as a ‘hammer’

The Goodie Box

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Conclusion

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• More initiative driven by “reputational capital”• More expertise – the experts aren’t managers, it’s the people

doing the work• More flexibility – “Clouds form and go away”• More collegiality – no backsides to kiss and no adversaries to

elbow aside – “there’s less back-stabbing because we’re not competing for that scarce commodity called a promotion”

• More judgment – Sr. managers make decisions that appear to be brilliant but boneheaded by those on the front lines because they lack context

• More loyalty• Less overhead – layers of people telling other people what to do

Benefits

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• Recruiting and retention – this ain’t for everyone• Holding each other accountable - “hey, I’ll go easy on you if you

go easy on me”• Growth through acquisition is not realistic• Tracking career progress – it’s all about the title

Challenges

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Success hinges on healthy confrontation

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ResourcesBeyond Empowerment: The Age of the Self-Managed OrganizationBy Doug Kirkpatrick Morning Star Self-Management Institutehttp://amzn.com/0615470149 “First, Let’s Fire All the Managers”By Greg HamelHarvard Business Review, Dec 2011http://bit.ly/1cFP0Lo

Flattening Hierarchy to Lift Creativity (Abstract)By Bernardo Grilo, Diogo Nunes, and Sofia VistasInstituto Superior Técnico, Portugal  Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking When Stakes Are HighBy Kerry Patterson, Joseph Grenny, Ron McMillan, and Al SwitzlerMcGraw Hillhttp://amzn.com/0071771328    “Netflix Culture: Freedom & Responsibility”By Reed HastingsSlidesharehttp://slidesha.re/18kXY4G