Hierarchical structures tend to
be inflexible, so the emphasis
today is on nonhierarchical
structures, empowering people,
and teamwork. Flexible businesses
ensure that everyone is involved
and can adapt swiftly to change.
Such organizations collaborate
with external partners, rather than
merely transact with them, thus
encouraging shared learning. US
scholar Peter Senge introduced
the concept of the “Learning
Organization,” whereby a company
facilitates the learning of its
employees and is able to transform
itself on a continual basis. Control
by management is replaced by
leadership and direction.
Organizations with a learning
culture and a shared vision enable
people with different functions to
work together to develop ideas,
make decisions, and create new
products and services more quickly.
Staff act as a group of entrepreneurs
rather than as paid employees. Being
able to learn from failure requires a
culture in which people are not
criticized for mistakes, since this
impairs initiative and new ideas.
Companies have to learn not
just to deal with chaos but to
thrive. In the ever-changing
environment of the 21st-century’s
digital economy, companies have
to manage chaos and use it as an
opportunity to grow and refresh
the business.Business today
Business may be complex in the
modern world, but it has never
been more interesting or exciting.
Physical size no longer equates
with success. The Internet changed
everything—now small can be
beautiful. Businesses that spring
up offering customized products
in niche markets are often able to
compete effectively in the global
economy. Some of today’s most
successful businesses started with
just one person, often in a garageor at a kitchen table. The important
thing is that companies should not
only offer what people want, but
also make it easy for consumers
to reach them online.
In addition to this is the overall
importance of ethics. “Profit at any
cost” is no longer an acceptable
maxim. There is growing regulation
on financial reporting and on issues
such as bribery. Today’s consumers
are increasingly demanding and
discerning: they want to know
how raw materials are sourced,
how products are made, and how
the company impacts the
environment. Some companies
have policies and procedures in
place to help create an ethical
culture. In this way, employees
know what standards are expected.
And yet there are still numerous
cases of corporate tax avoidance,
price-fixing through collusion, and
excessive risk taking. These issues
persist because individuals are
often motivated by personal gain.
High-profile cases include the 2008
collapse of the US financial-services
organization Lehman Brothers early
in the global economic crisis.
However, many of the examples
in this chapter suggest that
companies who hold a clear vision
and do the right thing, in the right
way, are most likely to succeed. ■WORKING WITH A VISION 163
You have to have vision. It’s
got to be a vision you
articulate clearly and forcefully
on every occasion. You can’t
blow an uncertain trumpet.
Father Theodore
Hesburgh
US priest and scholar (1917–)