I’ve been thinking a lot on the communication platforms that are available to us, and how they can introduce new company architectural models.
I worked for a small start-up company. The environment was extremely dynamic; alteration of the core business model occurred often and without warning. Changes in economy (we have those!), new products/companies released in the market, new research released from universities/agencies, changes in personal and business relationships all influenced the company’s path forward. The ride in there bordered at time on unstable. However, we had an advantage of being small; nimble with a small amount of inertia.
There were 5 of us in a garage, and later as the business matured, we graduated to a basement. Everyone could hear everything that was said. Communication was as easy as speaking louder than a whisper.
We had meetings twice a week to discuss new developments, how those developments can turn into tasks, who’s responsible for the task, and discussion of progress on existing tasks. Our meetings generally lasted over an hour, and occasionally upwards of 2 hours. In addition, informal discussions at each others desks often lead to new ideas and potential paths forward.
My email box fattened to quadruple digits in a few months, the majority of which sent within the company.
With these traditional tools and tight quarters, we struggled to keep up to date on each other, there was still a lag in communication.
For instance, something as simple as an external meeting:
A.B.C. Products has an idea for a new product and has started the design process.
Acting on a tip, Bob the boss from A.B.C. products talks with D.E.F. design engineers. D.E.F. can design everything for cheap. Bob discusses the price quote with Don, the finance man. Don and Bob speak with Fred, the VP on engineering at A.B.C. The top-level discussion about designing in-house or outsourced lasts through the week. Meanwhile Kip the designer is finalizing his presentation to discuss his design with ABC executives. ABC executives decide to outsource rendering Kip’s work obsolete. (based on a true story)
What if Bob tweeted to his company from his iPhone “D.E.F. can design for cheap!! thoughts?”?
As a result of the these barriers, I created an company blog on which I posted the following:
“Over my year at feed I have heard on more than one occasion notions of building a “leaderless leadership” modus operandi. Sounds great, but sometimes it becomes difficult as multiple paths are blazed individually and simultaneously, and ideas are formed and not shared or shared too late. The problem is compounded exponentially as more people are involved.
“I argue that the only hurtle in this system of leaderless leadership is building a strong and user-friendly communication network. If all the information that is researched and all the ideas formed are shared and universally (within the company) accessible with an easy and fun interface, the role of a leader shared by everyone. Armed with the collective knowledge, we can all spearhead the operation in parallel.
“This assumes of course that all parties involved actually want it and a fascist dictator is not present.”