Management in a Facebook World

I’ve been reading Clay Shirky’s latest book Here Comes Everybody and thinking a lot about how organizations, and specifically the power base behind organizational influence, is evolving right before our eyes. (More on the book in a future post) And then someone points me toward a great article by Gary Hamel out on the Wall Street Journal blog site that outlines this exact shift, and I had to share. Gary compiled “a list of 12 work-relevant characteristics of online life” that I’ve included below. Follow the link to the article for the entire narrative around each:

1. All ideas compete on an equal footing.
2. Contribution counts for more than credentials.
3. Hierarchies are natural, not prescribed.
4. Leaders serve rather than preside.
5. Tasks are chosen, not assigned.
6. Groups are self-defining and -organizing.
7. Resources get attracted, not allocated.
8. Power comes from sharing information, not hoarding it.
9. Opinions compound and decisions are peer-reviewed.
10. Users can veto most policy decisions.
11. Intrinsic rewards matter most.
12. Hackers are heroes.

Mr. Hamel, you nailed it.