Inside Conversation

Acknowledgment to Russ Ackoff. This post is essentially a paraphrase of of his work.

• Guidelines, policy, organizational direction should be defined by consensus of those impacted.
• Decisions should be made by empowered individuals.

In my experience, most organizations get it backward. Most policies seem to be handed down from on high, based on recommendations of the "experts". Most decisions try to achieve consensus or must be pushed UP for final approval.

Design by Community / Decision by the Empowered Individual makes much more sense.

Filed under: Organization Design |