Starfish are the future

I've been reminded of this book by two seperate people in the past 24 hours, I predict that 'decentralisation' will be the next buzz word. Of course true decentralisation is not about big organisations letting go a little, its really about individuals taking control by going it alone.

The Starfish and the Spider by Ori Brafman and Rod A. Beckstrom

If you cut off a spider's leg, it's crippled; if you cut off it's head, it dies. But if you cut off a starfish's leg it grows a new one, and the old leg can grow into an entirely new starfish.

Some organisations are just as decentralised as starfish, with no control centre or grand strategy. Think of craigslist and the original Napster, run totally by their own customers. Or Alcoholics Anonymous, which has thrived for decades as a loose network of small groups. Or even al Qaeda, which is so hard to destroy because its cells function independently.

"The Starfish and the Spider", based on groundbreaking research into decentralised organisations, proves that this type of leadership is primed to change the world. Major companies like eBay, IBM, Sun, and GE are starting to decentralise, with great results. Decentralisation isn't easy for people who are used to the classic chain of command organisation. But as readers will learn through this book's fascinating stories - ranging from the music business to geopolitics - it can be a very dangerous trend to ignore.

Busy Fools

I thought Blackberrys, Microsoft Outlook and Open Plan Offices were all supposed to save us time and make us more efficient. Yet most of the middle managers I come across seem to be busier, more stressed and consequently more indecisive than ever before.

A packed diary might fool some into thinking we are successful but in truth it simply says we have no time to seize new opportunities, think creatively or sit down with a colleague in need.

Here are a few of the tricks I’ve picked up from those that seem to have got the balance right;

• Be clear about your priorities – know what your role requires of you and where you want your career to go, eliminate any activity that doesn’t relate directly to these objectives


• Avoid committees – they rarely make good decisions, they spend far too much time discussing minutiae and they steal time from your diary way into the future


• Learn how to close a phone call – with a few well chosen phrases. My favourite is ‘don’t let me keep you any longer’ This way you can politely terminate the call without ending the relationship


• Don’t get comfortable – some of my most productive meetings have been conducted standing up and the worst, in unventilated meeting rooms in comfortable chairs


• Break habits – just because meetings normally start at 10am and last for 60 minutes in the conference room it doesn’t mean that’s the right formula. Try different durations, locations and times depending on the urgency and desired outcome.


• Say no – not ‘I’ll consider’ it or ‘Come back to me, next week’ Busy fools allow their mouths to operate independently to their brain, just say what you mean.


• Ignore email – at the very start of the day, begin by mapping out what you really need to achieve rather than allowing your Inbox to dictate your day.


• Go on a course – If Microsoft Outlook or similar handles your email and diary then set aside half a day to improve your knowledge of its functionality and the settings you use. Most people don’t use these systems efficiently and an hour invested in training could save you days over the next year.


• Take action – Reply, file or delete every email and letter on first sight, don’t let them loiter around, take action immediately.


• Tell the world – how you operate, if you find it best to check emails at defined times, say before 10am and after 4pm include a note to that effect in your signature. Do likewise with ‘out of office’ and voicemail.
  
  In the future, there will be yet more gadgets that need our attention; managers must take back control so that the technology doesn’t manage them.