Managing Software for Growth: Without Fear, Control, and the Manufacturing Mindset

Chapter 15. Catalysts

Stuart Kauffman's idea of autocatalysis tells us that self-organization happens without any external direction. There are two preconditions for autocatalysis. You need a critical mass of stuff (molecules, for example), and you need catalysts. Without catalysts, the soup stays pretty boring. In human terms, an organization can't even begin to change without having some catalysts around to get the ball rolling and to keep it rolling.

Change can start anywhere, but it usually takes off when some key people get hold of it and give it legs. In a software organization, change can begin with programmers who think growing software is a good idea, but resistant managers can squash it. Likewise, change can begin with the CTO, but ...