Organizations are broken. Here's how to fix them. Presented at the 2014 Expo Capital Humano in Santiago, Chile.

1. Hello there!
@clayparkerjones

2. UNDERCURRENT ’S PURPOSE
Study, develop, and spread
adaptive ways of working and
organizing that accelerate
meaningful progress for all.
@clayparkerjones

3. MY PURPOSE
Make organizations
habitable
@clayparkerjones

4. SOOOO….
Gamification?
@clayparkerjones

5. The workplace is
already gamified
@clayparkerjones

6. Bosses
@clayparkerjones
OFFICE SPACE

7. Raids
@clayparkerjones
JUST GOOGLE “BOARD MEETING”

8. Scoring
@clayparkerjones

9. Rules
@clayparkerjones
TOM FISHBURNE

10. Every day, millions of
people wake up and play
a boring RPG called
“Professionalism”
@clayparkerjones
DOCTOROW

11. The organization
is broken
@clayparkerjones

12. Why is it broken?
@clayparkerjones

13. CHANGE
@clayparkerjones
BRYNJOLFFSON, MCAFFEE

14. Computing Power
@clayparkerjones

15. COST PER GIGAFLOP
@clayparkerjones
$9,000,000,000,000
$6,750,000,000,000
$4,500,000,000,000
$2,250,000,000,000
$0
1960 1974 1987 2001 2014
TOP 500
BORING CHART, RIGHT?

16. COST PER GIGAFLOP
@clayparkerjones
$1,000,000,000,000
$1,000,000,000
$1,000,000
BOOM!
$1,000
$1
$0
1960 1974 1987 2001 2014
TOP 500
LOG SCALE!

17. AUTOMAT TIC – SOMETHING LIKE 250 PEOPLE REACHING A BILLION USERS!?
+ Platforms
(AKA Infrastructure)
@clayparkerjones

18. @clayparkerjones
EVANS
+ Networks
(AKA Globalization)

19. HDI: HEALTHY LIFE, GOOD EDUCATION, STANDARD OF LIVING
1
0.5
REST/ASIA
N. AFRICA
+ higher highs & lows
@clayparkerjones
0
1938 1960 1980 2000
ROSER
OECD
REST/EUROPE
LATAM
CHINA
INDIA
S. AFRICA

20. + higher highs & lows
@clayparkerjones
ROSER
IT ’S NOT PERFECT BUT IT ’S GET TING BETTER

21. + fewer conflicts
@clayparkerjones
ROSER

22. HOLY CRAP WHAT IF THE MAT TERNET EXISTED?
= higher quality of life
@clayparkerjones

23. = more opportunities
WHY PAY FOR SCHOOL?
@clayparkerjones

24. THIS IS INSTAGRAM @ $1BN VALUATION
= easier to star t
@clayparkerjones

25. = easier to scale
@clayparkerjones
ASYMCO

26. = more choice
(For all users)
@clayparkerjones

27. = more complexity
@clayparkerjones
BAR-YAM

28. 10% OF THE TOP 5,000 FIRMS ARE GONE EVERY YEAR
SHOULD WE EVEN TRY TO KEEP THEM ALIVE?
= easier to fail
@clayparkerjones

29. Designed to fail
@clayparkerjones

30. 1948-‘73 1973-‘90 1990-‘07 2007-‘13
Output 4.00 3.10 3.60 1.10
Capital 3.70 4.20 4.10 1.40
Labor 1.00 1.90 1.60 -0.10
Productivity 2.10 0.50 1.20 0.70
@clayparkerjones
8.0
6.0
4.0
2.0
0.0
-2.0
-4.0
1949
1953
1957
1961
1965
1969
1973
1977
1981
1985
1989
1993
1997
2001
2005
2009
2013

31. Labor contribution doubling
maybe every 50 years
Computing power doubling
every 18 months
We clearly don’t know
what we’re doing
@clayparkerjones

32. The organizations
we have are broken
@clayparkerjones

33. Complex Adaptive
Systems
@clayparkerjones

34. Hierarchies &
Complication &
Silos &
Conformity &
▶︎ Predictability
▶︎ Control
▶︎ Profit
@clayparkerjones

35. Hierarchies & Networks
Complication & Emergence
Silos & Flow
Conformity & Experimentation
Uncertainty ▶︎ Predictability
Empowerment ▶︎ Control
Purpose ▶︎ Profit
@clayparkerjones

36. Achievable at scale
@clayparkerjones

37. How?
@clayparkerjones

38. Hierarchies Allow teams to & self-organize
Networks
Complication & Emergence
Reduce number of rules, increase their legitimacy
Silos Work in public and & push transparency
Flow
Conformity Undo the matrix with & multidisciplinary Experimentation
teams
Uncertainty ▶︎ Predictability
Make it easy to “ship”
Foster disposable metrics, projects and teams
Empowerment ▶︎ Control
Purpose ▶︎ Profit
Set purpose and property and watch what happens
@clayparkerjones

39. @clayparkerjones
KNIBERG

40. Self-organizing
Lean
Autonomous
Multidisciplinary
@clayparkerjones

41. Continually reorganized
on purpose, for users,
around projects
@clayparkerjones

42. SKILLS
RESOURCES
RESISTANCE
@clayparkerjones
DIGNAN
ACTIVIT Y
PROFILE
ACTION
FEEDBACK
BLACK BOX
OUTCOMES
OBJECTIVES

43. ACTION
PREP; FOLLOW-THROUGH
RESOURCES
TIME; COMPETITION
@clayparkerjones
DIGNAN
SALES
DATA; POINTS
ACHIEVER; LACK OF FACULT Y
BLACK BOX
STATUS, LEADS
OBJECTIVES

44. @clayparkerjones
HOLACRACY

45. Toward a healthy,
living organization
@clayparkerjones