Shared consciousness maximizes availability of strategic information
Increasing the efficiency of an organization decreases its flexibility. In order for an organization to maximize its strategic agility in order to respond to shocks—whether threats or opportunities—leaders need to ensure that critically important information is made available to everyone in the team. Only with this information (that is usually only the privilege of senior leadership) can the organization make informed decisions toward achieving the strategic intent.
We had to tear down familiar organizational structures and rebuild them along completely different lines, swapping our sturdy architecture for organic fluidity, because it was the only way to confront a rising tide of complex threats. Specifically, we restructured our force from the ground up on principles of extremely transparent information sharing (what we call “shared consciousness”) and decentralized decision-making authority (“empowered execution”). We dissolved the barriers—the walls of our silos and the floors of our hierarchies—that had once made us efficient.[1]
See also:
- Efficiency is purchased by a loss in flexibility
- Smart autonomy is freedom to act according to strategic intent
- Empowered execution enables effective adaptation to threats and opportunities
- Disruptive innovation is antithetical to good management