September 18, 2009 Chautauqua

From the Editor's Computer

Is your company or organization based on the traditional pyramid model with the owner/CEO/president at the very tip, the supervisors/managers in the middle, and the front-line workers/labourers at the very bottom (or under the bottom)?

We are so used to that old model that often we do not see that may be there is another way to organize things.

I just read about a model for organizing a company or organization that definitely turns the old pyramid one on its head.*

Instead of a pyramid, think of your company or organization as a fruit tree. In this alternative model, the front-line workers/labourers are the fruit with access to the all the best resources (the sunlight and air that a tree needs to grow). The supervisors/managers are the branches which provide support for the fruit. The owner/CEO/president is the trunk with provides the central support for the whole structure. Cash flow, policies, and other resources are the water that enters through the roots and nourishes the fruit via the trunk and branches.

If everyone worked together to ensure that the front-line workers/labourers - the ones who the public sees and interacts with on a regular basis - was able to provide excellent customer service then just imagine how well your fruit tree of a company or organization would produce.

* From “Orbiting the Giant Hairball: a corporate fool’s guide to surviving with grace” by Gordon MacKenzie

Beth

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