TP: No, I'm not saying that. I'm saying that all the genies have
come out of various bottles. Information technology, new competition, new
countries that are competitive. Which says to me that the pace of
commerce is in my opinion going to continue to move in the direction it
is moving in now--that is, faster and faster. And so the issue is not do
we choose to be faster; the issue is the genies are only barely out and
you ain't going to stuff them back in. That's your competitive world,
ladies and gentlemen, like it or lump it. I'm suggesting there are ways
to organize which make it I think significantly less stressful. I'm
advocating speed not because I think it is a good idea. I'm advocating
speed because all the forces at work seem to be pushing in that direction
and how do you escape it?
At the simplest level, if the world is inundated with 10 thousand
new software packages a year, there is no way in bell you can make a
rational choice among them. You are going to make the choice because
something "grabs" you. [Microsoft's] Bill Gates says he has three
criteria for what makes great software. Number three is that it delights
you. And that's a fashion word. In a crowded marketplace, in order to
stand out, you have to be fashionable.
PT: And yet a recent article in Fortune quoted a bank vice
president as saying "as long as managers keep doing their jobs, we'll
keep giving them more to do." So in other words, if we keep up with the
pace now, the pace is going to get faster and faster. Where do you see
all this going?
TP: My assumption is that Darwin will have his way, and it will
take less time than one thinks. Those who continue to try and get more
and more mileage out of yesterday's organizations will fall by the
wayside. CNN is a stressful place and they move damn fast there, but in a
funny way CNN feels less stressful because there's less bull-shit. And a
lot of stress in life I think comes from the bullshit in the hierarchy
and having to spend 40 percent of your day saluting. Nobody salutes
anybody at CNN. Those who can't keep up do have problems, and they tend
to weed themselves out. The company doesn't have to do it.
PT: What advice would you give to the person who is not totally in
charge, yet has some control?
TP: I have empathy but no sympathy for the so-called middle manager
who feels trapped in the middle of an organization, because it is a crock
of shit. Powerlessness is a state of mind more than anything else. And if
you allow yourself to believe that you are sitting in the middle of a
hierarchy and therefore you must mind your Ps and Qs, you will be a
person stuck in the middle of a hierarchy from now until the end of time.
And I'm sorry that you were brain dead at 32 on the job and most of your
waking hours were spent shuffling papers and that you didn't realize it
until you are 57. I'm sorry but I'm not sympathetic.
My response, besides tough shit, would be "act like a vice
president." How do you get promoted to partner for example? Act like a
partner, then the promotion will just certify it. How do you get promoted
to project manager? A person who is already doing the work of a project
manager gets promoted to project manager. Very simple. The definition of
an entrepreneur is a person who doesn't know his or her place. If you
"know your place" you wouldn't try shit in this world. Entrepreneurism is
institutionalized disrespect, is it not?
PT: How do you exhort people to be brave? Is it a trumpet
call?
TP: By telling these stories, I help the 5 percent who already
believe this stuff, who are just about ready to make the move. I let them
know that they have company and exhort them to fight the good fight. I
sing to the choir, but not only to the choir. I sing to the radicals in
the choir. I sing to the nut cases and say, hey, you are not alone. Which
is the kindest thing you can say to some poor bastard who is about to
leap off a cliff. And to me that's more than enough to accomplish.
Tags:
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eight months,
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large corporations,
management,
mauro,
mea culpa,
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organizational structure,
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