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Chaos Should Not Be Tempered with Structure

Jeremy Gutsche Offers His Business Structure Tips

— February 19, 2013 — Business
Award-winning author and innovation keynote speaker Jeremy Gutsche shares his business structure tips and he argues that the businesses that are most successful are the ones that deviate from traditional structure and hierarchy. He believes that a firmly ingrained ideology is much more powerful within an organization than structure and hierarchy. In other words, Gutsche doesn't believe a company should be controlled and led by one leader who exclusively makes all the important decisions.

To demonstrate how this specifically applies in the corporate world, he references research performed by two entrepreneurs -- Rod Beckstorm and Ori Brafman -- in his book:

"In The Starfish and the Spider, Rod and his co-author Ori Brafman explore what they call 'unstoppable power of leaderless organizations' using the metaphor of the starfish.

When you pull off the arms of a spider, it dies. In contrast, if you rip off the five arms of a starfish, you'll get five new starfish. This happens because starfish have decentralized nervous systems.

Like a starfish, a terrorist network is decentralized, united only by ideology. If you attack one arm, it grows back even stronger."


Order, rigid structure and too many rules will stifle creativity and prevent employees from truly contributing and growing a company. Accepting mistakes and encouraging experimentation in terms of organization and rules are two of Jeremy's most popular business structure tips.

For more on this topic and many others, check out a FREE copy of 'Exploiting Chaos' here.
Trend Themes
1. Deviation From Traditional Structure - Exploring alternative organizational structures and deviating from traditional hierarchical models can lead to disruptive innovation opportunities.
2. Decentralized Organizations - Embracing the concept of decentralized organizations, like starfish structures, can lead to innovative approaches in managing and leading businesses.
3. Encouraging Creativity and Experimentation - Promoting a culture that accepts mistakes and encourages experimentation can foster disruptive innovation within a company.
Industry Implications
1. Technology - The tech industry can explore alternative organizational structures and embrace decentralization to foster innovation and drive industry growth.
2. Management Consulting - The management consulting industry can offer expertise in implementing alternative organizational structures and promoting a culture of creativity and experimentation.
3. Education and Professional Development - The education and professional development industry can provide training and resources on deviating from traditional structures and encouraging innovation in businesses.
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