My talk from the Paris E20 Summit, February 2014.

1. Leading 21st Century Firms
#e20s February 2014, Paris
LEE BRYANT
POST*SHIFT

2. which comes first: social tech or new org structures?

3. do we even need new org
structures and practice?

4. social technology enables new forms of organisation

5. … and new organisational capabilities (affordances)

6. but cannot fulfil its potential without real org change

7. but cannot fulfil its potential without real org change

8. The culture of work is changing

9. Beyond Taylorism: productivity has gone quantum

10. leadership & org design cannot
be considered in isolation

11. Hierarchy & divisional structure is only one dimension

12. Small, co-ordinated agile teams are better at delivery

13. P2P knowledge sharing beats cascaded ‘best practice’

14. Communities and networks are the fabric of the org
CoP Designer
CoP Engineering
CoP Marketing

15. ‘podular working’ needs an underpinning service platform
IT-services
Procurement-services
HR-services
Manufacturing

16. alternatives to simple
hierarchy are not new

17. Haier: from state industry to agile market leader

18. Kyocera: de-centralised ‘amoeba management’

19. Morning Star: efficiency through self-management

20. Valve: no management required

21. Valve: no management required

22. Some lessons on leadership from these case studies
{ }
Haier: autonomous teams control
costs and delivery. Competitive
environment (e.g. ‘catfish’ roles).
Morning Star: Self-management by
negotiated agreement (CLOUs).
nGen: Leaders step back to act as
'community managers.’
Valve: No managers: even cofounder Gabe Newell has no direct
reports. Every employee can hire.
WL Gore: Leadership earned “natural leadership” based on track
record for GTD and team building.
!

23. new thinking on
org design & governance

24. Holacracy, Sociocracy, Dual-Operating System & more

25. Fractal structures can be resilient at scale

26. Companies starting to ask:
“How would we do this
if we were a startup?"

27. Common features of new organisational thinking
!
small teams in a fractal or
nested structure
networked operations, with
intelligence at the edges
not over-optimised for the
past (“Innovator’s Dilemma”)
emphasis on autonomy &
responsibility among workers
emphasis on agility &
capacity for responsiveness

28. what are the key features of
a 21st Century company ?

29. Our diagnostic framework: key attributes of a C21st firm
Structure
Culture
Practice
!
!
!
• Decentralised
• Resilient
• Adaptive & Emergent
• Networked
• Service-oriented
• Open
• Customer-centric
• Innovative
• Experience-led
• Passion & purpose
• Agile & Iterative
• Data-driven
• Collaborative
• Task-focused
• Podular
© Postshift LLP, 2014

30. key characteristics & roles
of a 21st Century leader

31. Network-centric management & being a ‘connector’
Connected Leadership
Loose Hierarchies & Strong Networks
Networked Contributors
Listening
Analyzing
Transparent
Diverse
Open
Setting Context
Building Consensus
Servant
Leadership
jarche.com
Sunday, 28April, 2013

32. Managing for complexity and change

33. Outside-in perspective: leaders as customer advocates

34. Nurturing a strong social fabric for ‘tight & loose’ to work

35. Influencer, ‘keeper of stories’

36. Creating protected spaces for new ways of working
Performance
ALPHA
Services GOV.UK performance Transactions Explorer
GOV.UK overview
Departments and policy
GOV.UK performance
Departments and policy
Departments and policy content had 1.46
million visitors last week, a decrease of 2%
from the week before
Web traffic
Weekly unique visitors
Unique visitors per week to departments and policy

37. Traditional leadership skills more needed than ever

38. #e20, #socbiz, #change,
#betterbusiness, #efficiency,
#networks, #C21st, #wirearchy,
#behaviour, #motivation,
#passion, #agile, #engagement,
#influence, #collaboration,
#people, #responsiveness,
#whateverwearecallingittoday

39. Credits and references
Images:
!
http://i.imgur.com/5mHPnj9.png
http://www.thepoke.co.uk/2013/09/25/contest-over-here-is-worlds-coolest-duck/njmlc4n/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/tinkerszone/3948664111
http://i.imgur.com/Qr3xx.jpg
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dce76/159422716
http://www.flickr.com/photos/davegray/8194170066
http://www.flickr.com/photos/67705205@N00/790277620
http://weareus.co.uk/portfolio/human-chicken
http://www.flickr.com/photos/davegray/8194170066/
http://www.current.com.au/2012/09/26/article/Haier-Learning-An-inside-look-at-Haiers-short-marriage-to-Fisher-Paykel/NFZBKHSEQP
http://www.flickr.com/photos/good_day/555533669/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/the-wanderers-eye/4494147652/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/35468148654@N01/416787/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/dellphotos/6244154962/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/kheelcenter/5279194177/
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NikunES7CBw
http://www.flickr.com/photos/featheredtar/2305070061/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/nicholas_t/3602389004
!
Other references:
!
http://holacracy.org
http://www.slideshare.net/jarche/connected-leadership
http://blogs.valvesoftware.com/abrash/valve-how-i-got-here-what-its-like-and-what-im-doing-2/