Excerpts A Troubled President The Numbers Do Not Add Up Sleepless Nights Torn in Half! The Military Understands Already Beyond the Value Chain Aspirations and Opportunities Emboldening Customers and Strengthening Their Capabilities Boxes and Lines Distrust Bigger than the Boxes Rethinking the Model

Excerpts #4 of Chapter 1 Excerpts: Next | Previous Torn in Half! As if to drive his point home, Frank lifts their organizational chart and slowly tears it in half. "I'm calling an end to this rigid organizational structure." He tosses the chart in the basket near by. Looks of discomfort spread across the room. Laughter is on no one's mind. Frank notices the looks on their faces. There is two minutes of silence, which seems like two hours to some. Even though there are no words, the question is the same: "What does this mean for my job?" For people grown used to the expected, this unexpected turn of events is shocking. Wesley mumbles, "What did you just do, Frank? Why did you tear our organizational chart in half? What do I tell my people?" Vincent joins Wesley. "Yes, and who do our customers talk to when they have problems?" "Now you really have me confused," protests Alan. "I don't even know how to design a reward system that's not hierarchical. Who will do the reviews? We will have anarchy from the executive suites to the shop floor!" Frank looks slowly around the room. "Perhaps it was an impulse and perhaps I will regret it, but there is something about the chart that doesn't strike me as true to life. Listening . . . learning . . . communicating . . . and deciding . . . they get lost in the ownership questions, the "hierarchy of importance" questions, the turf questions, the job definition questions, the recognition questions. . . . What if we eliminate this turf-based model? Many companies have already been flattening their hierarchy. A few have been finding new ways to present their hierarchies, such as Eastman Chemical. "I see your worried faces. You are not losing your jobs . . . but maybe you are. Wait, let me state that again: your salaries will continue. The hierarchical organizational chart is based on narrowly defined rectangular 'job' boxes knitted together with thin horizontal and vertical lines. But what I want are people with robust capabilities that can weave themselves together in ever-changing patterns, depending on concrete market opportunities." Silence . . . everyone hears the loud sound of silence! Frank continues, "I'd like your help this week. It's going to be hard work, but we must do this for the health and continued growth of the company. I would like your help in rethinking the way we operate in this company. I'd like you to clear your calendars for the week and be ready to spend the time together to help me put a dynamic new foundation under Custom Products and Services, Inc." They all think of the busy week ahead, all they have scheduled, and then gradually they realize that something more important has come up. Marjorie comments, "I have a friend at General Electric. They have been working on transforming their organization for the last fourteen years. How can we expect to do something in one week?" "We probably can't, Marjorie," responds Frank. "But I have a suspicion, and it is only a suspicion, that our attitudes have a lot to do with our lumbering slowness and our inability to master continuous change. "Have you ever noticed how hard it is to mobilize a team from different parts of the company? People don't know where to get the talent needed for the opportunity. Why is this?" Wesley, uncertain if this is the right answer, nevertheless makes a try: "Could it have something to do with the way we think of ourselves and our relationships, as defined by that piece of paper you just tore in half?" Frank smiles faintly. Excerpts: Next | Previous