Better Work
Resources about better, more effective, happier workplaces, companies, societies. Doing the right thing and doing things right in the context of organizations and the society in large.
Some keywords: values, rightshifting, non-violent communication, quality, human-centric, lean.
Heroes
Dr. W. Edwards Deming
Edwards Deming is the father of a “new management” (post-taylorian), of the Japanese post-war success, of lean thinking, of more human workplaces.
F.ex. this overview of The 14 For The Transformation Of Management and Theory of Profound Knowledge .
Alternative company organizations and cultures
Consequently, we should focus on keeping ourselves and our customers happy, not focus on making money. Good reputation and profit is simply a side effect of keeping ourselves and our customers happy. - What is Crisp?, Crisp’s Blog
What is Crisp?, Crisp’s Blog 5/2010 - this cooperative/company has created two A3: “What is Crisp? - defines their purpose” and “Crisp strategy - defines how the company works and why”. Great idea, great content.
Crisp consensus model 2.1 - Crisp, an IT consultancy, is owned by its members, has no CEO, and decides using consensus (how many people are involved depends on the size and effect of the decision - 1, team, a special group, all)
The Morning Star Co. in California has used self-management for decades to become one of the leading tomato producers in the US
Resources
Turn the Ship Around!: A True Story of Turning Followers into Leaders (website) - a wonderful story of turning the worst submarine in the navy into the best one by turning everybody into a leader - and thus tapping into all their resources, passion, initiative. Giving people purpose and control over their own work is crucial for effectiveness, especially in a chaotic enironment. Some advices: Focus on excellence, not avoiding mistakes. Empowering others is disempowering - allow them do the job. You perhaps can start to change culture by faking it at first (e.g. behaving as a proud sailor). Responsibility requires competence - on our job, we are learning every day. Some highlights: “Lack of certainty is a strength. Certainty is arrogance.” “Efforts to monitor the process make the organization less efficient while efforts to improve it make it more efficient.” “The best way not to make a mistake is not to do anything or make any decisions.”
Holocracy in a large company: Inside Zappos CEO Tony Hsieh’s radical management experiment that prompted 14% of employees to quit (5/2015)
Books to check out
Holacracy: The New Management System for a Rapidly Changing World
Frederic Laloux: Reinventing Organizations (Recommended to everybody at Zappos before deciding whether they wanted to remain in a self-managed system; about Laloux: “..so many of the problems he addressed at companies were due to managers who stifled progress. [..] Laloux concluded that self-management was just one element of a new type of organization that represented the direction humanity was heading in — away from absolute leaders and toward empowered individuals.”)
Delivering Happiness: A Path to Profits, Passion, and Purpose by Tony Hsieh (Mar 19, 2013) [Zappos CEO]