Page 28 - Make Work Great

You . . . as the Seed

section point of multiple lines of communication and action. Figures
1.1 and 1.2 both contain the same number of people (dots), but notice
that the number of links (lines) between them in Figure 1.2 has more
than tripled! The demands on each of us have multiplied. The work-
place feels more chaotic because it is more chaotic.
How can managers support their employees in such a confusing
state of affairs? How can leaders enable their organizations to suc-
ceed under such diffi cult and seemingly contradictory conditions?
The answers lie not in the type of directives they hand out but in the
type of environments they are able to create—their cultures. It’s all
about how they draw their Figure 1.2.

There Is No There; There Is No Them
Many of us labor under the false assumption that someone else—per-
haps our employer—should provide the “right” type of environment.
We naturally—and incorrectly—believe that the confusion, complex-
ity, and apparent chaos around us must be a result of something
being “wrong.” Statistics abound indicating the worldwide notion
that things are better elsewhere. 6–8

FIGURE 1.2 Information flow in today’s early-information-age
workplace: the crystalline node/network model

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