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No Set Pieces Anymore
The organization of the future is a network of jazz combos
In Jazz vs. Symphony, John Clarkeson (the then-CEO of BCG) demonstrates his prescience with this essay written in January of 1990, diving the changing role for leaders:
The winning organization of the future will look more like a collection of jazz ensembles than a symphony orchestra. Functional barriers will be reduced. Different specialties will work in more permanent teams around specific customer opportunities. Customer contact will be continuous. Information will be current, rich, and available to all.
Leaders will be in the flow, not remote. Teamwork and cooperation will increase at the expense of individual competition. Cooperative support will moderate anxiety and encourage risk-taking. Talented people will be attracted by the ability to see and influence the whole process, to learn from other knowledgeable people, and by the opportunity to create and grow.
The leaders who emerge from this environment will not look exactly like the old models. They will not necessarily excel at any one specialty. They will not have all the ideas. They will not be able to rely on exclusive decision-making authority, nor on the overwhelming force of personality, nor on a monopoly of information.
Leadership will flow to…
