Once upon a time there was a company that had no boss. There were quite more than 100 people in the office, and they just organized themselves fluidly around temporary projects: who has the best idea got the support of others.
Desks had wheels so that project teams can join spontaneously. Just unplug, replug, and there you could work next to your new buddy.
Failure was accepted as a learning opportunity and very quickly, new hires worked directly on the main products where they could wreck havoc so easily!
Employee evaluation was based on peer evaluation; a constant stream of feedback was organized to each employee from the feedback of peers; and even salary increments were based on a peer-review ranking.
Do you think this company exists in another galaxy or is just in the Fourth Revolution’s author imagination? No, it’s a company called Valve and its employee handbook is accessible here. Get a glimpse of how the workplace of the future will look like, it is absolutely eye-opening! A real MUST-READ!
Also stroll on the company website, where all current employees are displayed alphabetically. Even the founder, Gabe Newell, is just listed there as any other employee.
Brace yourself because the workplace is going to look more frequently like that: we will be expected to take initiatives in an unstructured environment and let our contribution shine in the eyes of the others. No more boss, no more instructions. Pure initiative, pure entrepreneurship.
Are you ready for the Fourth Revolution in organizations?
The link to Valve’s employee handbook was originally in a blog post by Seth Godin with various other useful references.
