Gary Hamel on The Future of Management
Gary Hamel is a well known strategic planning guru who works mostly with big corporations. He has written a number of books and has a new book out called The Future of Management. I haven't read this book yet, but there is an interesting interview with Hamel on the McKinsey Quarterly site (registration required). Key quote:
"The outlines of the 21st-century management model are already clear. Decision-making will be more peer based; the tools of creativity will be widely distributed in organizations. Ideas will compete on an equal footing. Strategies will be built from the bottom up. Power will be a function of competence rather than of position."
Hamel talks about technology and globalization as two key drivers of the need for management change. He also describes what he calls "thoughtocracy":
"Take a look at our kids—the first generation that has grown up on the Web. Their basic assumption is that your contribution should be judged simply on the merits of what you do rather than on the basis of your title or your credentials or providence or anything else. This is the lesson they’ve drawn from the experience with what I call the “thoughtocracy” of cyberspace."
Very interesting stuff and very applicable to small business.
