CHAPTER 8

Flat: The New Black?

What if you start a company and don’t have any “managers” at all? You hire only mature, responsible adults and you treat them accordingly.

WHAT IF EVERY EMPLOYEE MADE BIG DECISIONS?

Within the company’s customer-centric culture, employees make their own choices, including all manner of decisions about the company itself: strategy, spending, customer interaction, product design—everything.

Communication, even among virtual and separated employees, is organic. No more useless meetings that serve only the grandstanders and bureaucrats. Conversations flow both at the office watercooler and at its digital counterparts via Twitter, Facebook, IM, and Yammer (or whatever other internal messaging tool you might use).

Each ...

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