Reinventing Organizations
Inspiring examples from enterprises that favor the autonomy of their staff members, with several of them relying on the continuous development of their employees.
Author(s): Frédéric Laloux
Publisher: Nelson Parker
Date of publication: 2014
Manageris opinion
How can you establish more inspired work communities? In this book, Frederic Laloux analyzes examples of companies that are managed—in some cases for decades—according to an approach that radically departs from the traditional hierarchical model. Without employing the terms “holacratic” or “self-management,” the author cites the well-known examples of FAVI or Sun Hydraulics, as well as other original and detailed case studies, such as Buurtzorg, the leading home-based care company in the Netherlands, and Morning Star, a Californian firm specialized in tomato shipping and processing.
The author devotes the first part of the book to studying the emergence of various management models, which he classifies into developmental stages, from the least to the most enlightened. This typology may be debatable, but does underline profound differences in the design and organization of businesses.
He then studies in detail how companies classified as most advanced are run. How does self-management work in practice? What happens to traditional management processes, such as recruiting, performance management, and compensation? How are conflicts resolved? Etc. The most precise and instructive examples are found in this part. The third part provides the building blocks needed to transition to this mode of organization. Appendix 3 provides some tips for choosing the organizational structure best adapted to a company’s size and type of value chain.
This book may be a bit conceptual at times, but is full of practical tips for anyone thinking of transitioning to a self-managed organization.
See also
Liberating the company: returns of experience
The notion of liberated company remains controversial: some see in it an ideal model, others a deception. In any event, it raises a key question: how can you combine individual autonomy and collective efficiency?
Successfully transitioning to the self-managed enterprise
While the ”liberated company” model provides a solution to agility challenges, it involves a real disruption in organizing the relationships among employees. What does it take to achieve such a radical change?
