Thursday, February 03, 2005
Ah, The Wonderful Reorg
A Big Company Tries To Go Entrepreneurial
The current issue of Folio: contains a lot of stuff that irks me and makes me think. Great work, Tony! It's nice to see Folio: back from its brief flirtation with trying to be min Magazine(which I helped create--self-aggrandizing self-advertisement!).
Folio: contains a couple of pieces on reorganizations. In my career, I've subjected my teams to a few reorganizations. Some were meant to integrate a variety of media properties better, but most were targeted at flattening the structure, and getting closer to customers.
What I've learned: most reorganizations fail, because they shift positions and reporting responsibility, but don't change the culture either of the company, or of the holders of positions in the various org chart boxes.
I advise, before reorganizing--and causing confusion, annoyance, revolt and petty battles for power--that you try this: flatten your structure by changing what you do and what you expect from your management team (their job descriptions and their evaluation criteria). Eliminate as many useless meetings and reports as possible, and require your managers to use that extra time to get out into the market and meet their customers (yes, readers too!). If you can get that to happen, your organization will naturally flatten, and your leaders will set an example for everyone who works for them. You'll probably generate more business, too, if your leaders know how to listen to and create solutions for customers.
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The current issue of Folio: contains a lot of stuff that irks me and makes me think. Great work, Tony! It's nice to see Folio: back from its brief flirtation with trying to be min Magazine(which I helped create--self-aggrandizing self-advertisement!).
Folio: contains a couple of pieces on reorganizations. In my career, I've subjected my teams to a few reorganizations. Some were meant to integrate a variety of media properties better, but most were targeted at flattening the structure, and getting closer to customers.
What I've learned: most reorganizations fail, because they shift positions and reporting responsibility, but don't change the culture either of the company, or of the holders of positions in the various org chart boxes.
I advise, before reorganizing--and causing confusion, annoyance, revolt and petty battles for power--that you try this: flatten your structure by changing what you do and what you expect from your management team (their job descriptions and their evaluation criteria). Eliminate as many useless meetings and reports as possible, and require your managers to use that extra time to get out into the market and meet their customers (yes, readers too!). If you can get that to happen, your organization will naturally flatten, and your leaders will set an example for everyone who works for them. You'll probably generate more business, too, if your leaders know how to listen to and create solutions for customers.
