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HR PRACTICES AND PROCESSES THAT MAKE SUSTAINABLE VALUES STICK 47

Figure 2.1 Melaver, Inc.’s 3-D organizational diagram. The company refers to
the area beyond the outer circle as “The Sanskrit Galaxy.”

that are linear in design, with a clear hierarchy. Melaver chose to avoid the traditional
structure to make everyone accountable for outcomes.
The company would be flat, with everyone operating as equals. The team developed
clear lines where necessary, but decided everyone would be “NTs” (No Titles). This
decision about no titles was one that did not stick in application, as it confused clients
and outsiders, but the concept still applies internally in the ongoing operations of the
company. Titles exist and people are in charge of projects, but people at Melaver, Inc.
have equal input into decisions. But having a non-linear, flat, non-hierarchical struc-
ture creates other challenges, such as communicating effectively and deciding who is
responsible for what. Does having equal input into decisions mean that leadership
is spread evenly across an organization?

LEADERSHIP
2
Fortune magazine, in its 1998 roundup of America’s most admired companies, iden-
tified leadership as an important characteristic of exemplary organizations. Companies
being noticed and making a difference have leaders who are willing to find a way of