are managers an endangered species?
DESCRIPTION
It's long been noticed that public companies tend to be less innovative. There's also a trend in many Agile companies to eschew management. Are private, Agile companies without managers the future?TRANSCRIPT
![Page 1: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/1.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Are Managers An Endangered Species?
If team are self-directing, why do we need managers?
Curtis "Ovid" Poehttp://allaroundtheworld.fr/
![Page 2: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/2.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
The Elephant in the Room
• The “unsolved problem” in Agile• Traditional management doesn’t work• This problem is often ignored• So … history
http://www.flickr.com/photos/hbarrison/7522705738/
![Page 3: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/3.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Hunter-Gatherers
• Follow the leader• … or die• Tend to be more egalitarian• Tend to be more communal
![Page 4: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/4.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Feudalism Oversimplified
• Local allegiances• Poor internal communication– No price signals– Thus no markets (in the modern sense)
• Command-and-control from king to serf
![Page 5: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/5.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
The Feudal Era
![Page 6: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/6.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
The Corporate Era
![Page 7: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/7.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Wait, what?
![Page 8: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/8.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Startup
![Page 9: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/9.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Growth
![Page 10: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/10.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Mature
![Page 11: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/11.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Senile
![Page 12: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/12.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Progressive
![Page 13: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/13.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Why Do Corporations Struggle?
• Why don't big companies innovate more? (Forbes)• Why big companies can't innovate. (Harvard Business Review)• Why is innovation so hard for large companies? (Game
Changer)• Why small companies have the innovation advantage.
(entrepreneur.com)• The Dark Side of Analyst Coverage: The Case of Innovation.
(Journal of Financial Economics)
![Page 14: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/14.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Public Companies
• Share prices tied to compensation• Share prices tied to job security• Share prices vis-à-vis company takeover• Share prices as a measure of success
![Page 15: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/15.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Share Prices
Keeping share prices highrequires minimizing risk
![Page 16: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/16.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Share Prices
Minimizing riskmeans
minimizing innovation
![Page 17: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/17.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Inefficiencies
• Feudal societies were inefficient– Local allegiances– Poor internal communication• No price signals• Thus no internal markets (in the modern sense)
– Command-and-control from king to serf
![Page 18: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/18.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Inefficiencies
• Corporations are inefficient– Local allegiances– Poor internal communication• No price signals• Thus no internal markets (in the modern sense)
– Command-and-control from CEO to grunt
![Page 19: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/19.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
If we are willing to die for Democracy and Capitalism… why do we forbid it in our corporations?
![Page 20: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/20.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
People (a.k.a. “resources”)
• Little personal incentive• Groupthink• Risk averse/hide-and-seek• Blame avoidance• Large projects bring prestige
![Page 21: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/21.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Why Do Feudal Corporations Exist?
![Page 22: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/22.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Why Do Feudal Corporations Exist?
• Brand recognition• Mature products• Financial reserves
![Page 23: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/23.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
How Do Large Corporations Cope?
• BBC Blue Room• Funding startups• Litigation instead of innovation (“Hello, RIAA”)• Going Agile
![Page 24: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/24.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Existing Agile Corporations
![Page 25: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/25.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
37signals
• Basecamp, Highrise, Campfire, Rails• 38 employees• Self-organizing teams• Reluctantly trying “middle manager” role
![Page 26: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/26.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Github
• Github!• 200+ employees• Self-organizing teams• Reluctantly trying “middle manager” role
![Page 27: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/27.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Priceline
(profits courtesy Booking.com)
![Page 28: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/28.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Booking.com
Goal Sell more hotel roomsStrategy An Agile companyTactics P.O.P. (ish)
![Page 29: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/29.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Booking.com
• Third largest e-commerce site in the world• 200+ IT staff• Thousands of employees• No project managers
![Page 30: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/30.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Priceline Record Growth
![Page 31: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/31.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Booking.com Strengths
• Relatively flat hierarchy• Excellent customer service• A/B testing experts• Strong continuous deployment• Focus on customers, not code
![Page 32: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/32.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Booking.com Challenges
• Extensive technical debt• Lack of Perl developers• Dutch tax law changes• Poor US market penetration (*)• Focus on small projects
![Page 33: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/33.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
![Page 34: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/34.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
VALVE
• Half-Life Series• Counter-Strike Series• Team Fortress Series• Portal Series• Left 4 Dead Series• Steam
![Page 35: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/35.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
VALVE
• 250+ people• Better profits/employee than Google or Apple• The platonic ideal of Agile?• What are corporations for?
![Page 36: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/36.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
VALVE
• Entirely self-funded• Own their intellectual property• “Hiring well is the most important thing in the
universe. Nothing else comes close.”
![Page 37: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/37.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
VALVE
• No managers• None• Really
![Page 38: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/38.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
VALVE
• No job titles, either (except on business cards)• Everybody is an expert• 100% Time• All desks have wheels• Evaluation by your peers
![Page 39: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/39.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
VALVE Struggles
• “Valve Time”• Mentoring• Disseminating information internally• Long-term predictions• High barrier to entry
![Page 40: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/40.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
VALVE (Alleged) Struggles
• Not always as flat as they appear• Excess cash can kill incentives• Windows lock-in
![Page 41: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/41.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
New Employee Handbook
VALVEhttp://www.valvesoftware.com/company/Valve_Handbook_LowRes.pdf
![Page 42: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/42.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Ricardo Semler• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ricardo_semler• http://www.semco.com.br/en/• 27% average annual growth for 25 years• http://www.slideshare.net/camilletaper/semco• "Leading by Omission" speech (Google it)
![Page 43: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/43.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Other “Managerless” Comapanies
• Morningstar, Inc.• Gore-Tex ®• Zappos.com• Medium.com• … and many more
![Page 44: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/44.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Process Versus Product
• Products over process• Managers are often “Process”• Hence, minimizing management
![Page 45: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/45.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Managerless companies
• Generally agile/lean• Usually tech companies• Almost always privately funded
![Page 46: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/46.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Open Questions
• Can “managerless” succeed long-term?• What social changes might this entail?• Where are managers required?• Can public companies effectively compete?
![Page 47: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/47.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Summary
• Corporate management resembles feudalism• Agile teams are self-directing• Many companies are eliminating management
![Page 48: Are Managers An Endangered Species?](https://reader033.vdocument.in/reader033/viewer/2022052522/554dcd3eb4c905bd488b55bc/html5/thumbnails/48.jpg)
April 11, 2023 Copyright 2014, All Around The World
Questions?
?http://www.allaroundtheworld.fr/