Chapter 14. The Tyranny of the Org Chart

HAVING GREAT DIGITAL PLUMBING AND A HIGH-BEAM strategy will not increase the velocity of your organization if you do not have the right people to get the job done. To be successful, you, as a leader, must learn how to create a high-velocity culture. The best tools in the hands of a disaffected team member will not produce results—period. I have witnessed organizations with great products and awesome systems in place fail because they simply do not have a culture of high velocity and strong performance. In the United States today, most people do not have to work for you—they have options and they darn sure will take another one if they don’t feel valued, comfortable, or like they are making a difference in the world.

In order to play a high-speed game, you need team members who can work at a fast pace—and you also need a team that can work without friction. The high level of friction found in organizations today is often caused by a multigenerational workforce that has dramatically different views of the world and the tools used to operate in it. Individuals from different generations simply have very different styles of living and working. These differences can lead to a culture clash that results in dysfunctional teams. Technology has a big impact on this dysfunction, since team members from different generations prefer different tools and take completely different approaches to accomplishing the same task. There simply cannot be velocity where there is great friction. Your job as a leader is to create a culture that generates as little friction as possible by leveraging your employees’ strengths and minimizing their differences.