Beyond management

the long version

The systems and structures that we call 'management' are obsolete. They were developed for smokestack factories, during the industrial era. Devised for producing goods efficiently, management practices are geared to solving technical, left-brain problems: the kind that occurs when production is highly mechanized, work is repetitive, and people labor in isolation. A century later, work has changed but management has not. It is inflexible, top-heavy, and old. In smoke-free offices, 21st Century knowledge workers organize themselves. Creative and agile, they network or team to tackle complex, right-brain problems by interacting and sharing information: talking, texting, asking questions as they make decisions collectively. Beyond Management explains why the tools, rules, competition, and compliance favored by management are actually disorganizing and cause breakdowns at work. It also shows you how to replace out-dated practices with new ones that empower knowledge workers.