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Video Summaries of The Future of Leadership
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1-Page Summary of The Future of Leadership
The Era of Human Capital by Edward E. Lawler III
As the world becomes increasingly more complex, businesses must adapt to changing conditions. One way businesses can do this is by having the right people in place and have them perform their duties effectively. This will end the old hierarchical structure of most companies which are no longer effective in today’s business environment. Even at work, democracy is inevitable because if you don’t offer a good brand to potential employees, they won’t want to work for your company and you won’t be able to compete with other companies who do offer better brands.
Organizations are built on the idea of jobs. They have job descriptions, organizational charts and reporting structures to describe how things get done. However, that model is about to change because it doesn’t focus enough on human capital (the knowledge and skills needed by an organization). Instead, organizations should focus more on their need for “knowledge workers” who can use their skills to solve problems. Therefore, they should hire people based on those skills rather than describing them with a job title or position in an organizational chart. The biggest change will be that employees will choose where they want to work instead of being assigned there by management.
Of Fleas and Elephants by Charles Handy
Organizations can be divided into two categories: elephants and fleas. Elephants are the big corporations, governments, etc., while fleas are smaller organizations such as small businesses, non-profits, churches and schools. Elephants have a lot of power but they don’t come up with new ideas; it’s the fleas that do that because they’re more nimble. In fact, all elephants were once fleas at some point in time but not every flea will grow to become an elephant.
Can elephants be benevolent to fleas? Federalism, a mixture of centralization and decentralization, suggests the possibility. However, federalism leads to turf wars that are inefficient. It does allow for decentralized organizations like fleas within an elephant organization. Some companies cultivate their own personal gardens for ideas like Xerox has done in the past. History’s highway is littered with good ideas thrown off by large organizations such as elephants because they can’t see them or don’t know what to do with them when they have them.
The Boundaryless Organization by Stephen Kerr
Differentiation is easier than integration. Entropy suggests that things naturally fall apart, so it’s easy to differentiate from the competition while maintaining your identity as a company. However, integrating different elements into a cohesive whole can be difficult for large organizations with entrenched bureaucracies. By understanding three types of boundaries facing companies—differentiation (or decentralization), integration (or centralization), and entropy—you can address these challenges and become more successful.
There are barriers that keep people from sharing their ideas. They’re called floor and ceiling boundaries, which separate people by level in an organization or hierarchy. This prevents information from being distributed to make the organization better.
Organizations have walls that separate them from suppliers, shareholders, the media and customers. These can be physical walls or just barriers created by departments whose interests conflict with each other.
Your company’s goal is to create a free flow of money, people and knowledge between these barriers.
Leadership: Back to the Future by James M. Kouzes and Barry Z. Posner
Predicting the future is a fool’s errand. This is because: * In 1899, U.S. Commissioner of patents, Charles Duell declared that “everything that can be invented has been invented.” * In 1905, President Grover Cleveland prophesied that “sensible and responsible women do not want to vote.” * In 1962, Decca Records declared that “guitar music is on the way out,” and turned down a group called the Beatles.
