culture + org design
Visa’s founding CEO Dee Hock had a realization. He saw clearly that it was “beyond the power of reason to design an organization” capable of coordinating a global network of financial transactions of the sort that had started to develop.7 Yet, he also knew that nature regularly achieves just that. Why, he wondered, couldn’t “a human organization
... See morePeter M. Senge • The Fifth Discipline
‘In the US they think we’re communists!’ The 70,000 workers showing the world another way to earn a living — Guardian US
Oliver Balchapple.news
When hiring, look for people with the right attitude. Skills can be taught. Attitude changes require a brain transplant.
Walter Isaacson • Elon Musk
But, functional divisions grow into fiefdoms, and what was once a convenient division of labor mutates into the “stovepipes” that all but cut off contact between functions. The result: analysis of the most important problems in a company, the complex issues that cross functional lines, becomes a perilous or nonexistent exercise.
Peter M. Senge • The Fifth Discipline
The English word “company” comes from the French compaigne—the sharing of bread, the same root as “companion.” Interestingly, the oldest Swedish term for business, narings liv, means “nourishment for life,” and the oldest Chinese symbol for business translates as “life meaning.” Perhaps when we rediscover organizations as living systems, we will
... See morePeter M. Senge • The Fifth Discipline
One of the things that surprised me the most was to see that for any piece of work being shared, designers would put together a keynote deck for it. It could be the smallest thing, like a quick look at the latest work progression, or big presentations, of course. At Apple, designers use the power of storytelling to influence others, instead of just
... See moreAndrea Pacheco • What I Learned as a Product Designer at Apple
As I said, most companies and most interviews focus more on the question: can this person do what we need? But if you’re trying to recruit the best talent in the world, it needs to start with them. Who are they? What do they love doing? What are their ambitions? How does their past shape what they want for their future? What are they insecure... See more
Molly Graham • Fit
Peter Drucker said that “making money for a company is like oxygen for a person; if you don’t have enough of it you’re out of the game.” In other words, profitability is a performance requirement for all businesses, but it is not a purpose. Extending Drucker’s metaphor, companies who take profit as their purpose are like people who think life is
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