No CEO: A Swedish company where nobody is in charge • Hacker News Board

Re: No CEO: A Swedish company where nobody is in charge

#111

Post by nunez » Sun, Feb 19, 2017, 7:06 AM UTC

they aren't alone. many boutique shops operate like this. decisions at the top are made by consensus. everyone is their own boss. salary decisions sre made by local managers and HR. if there is a ceo, then s/he is mostly a figurehead.

it makes sense for consultancies to operate this way because they don't really sell "a product" as we come to think of it. They sell services in specific areas, and growth of that business is largely contingent on the type of work they take up, how much of it they're willing to do and keeping the structure of the firm in an optimal state to satisfy those demands.

Re: No CEO: A Swedish company where nobody is in charge

#112

Post by leeny » Mon, Feb 20, 2017, 4:17 AM UTC

I expect that this method works better in a consultancy (which is what the company in this article is) than in a startup that builds product. In a consultancy, the customer can be the de facto CEO. They tell you what they need and when they need it, and while actually figuring out what to build and how isn't necessarily easy, at least there's some direction. That and each project is, out of necessity, scoped from day one.

In a startup where you're making something, especially BEFORE you make something and during the dark times when you don't know if the thing you're making is something anyone wants, having a single source of vision and direction is critical.

Re: No CEO: A Swedish company where nobody is in charge

#113

Post by javaHelena » Mon, Feb 20, 2017, 8:41 PM UTC

jeffbr13 wrote: post #20

ep103 wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

ActUp used to give managerial lessons for leftist organizations. Of the materials I saw, one of the things they used to teach was that a truly flat organization results in informal hierarchies developing, by the people most capable and/or passionate (because they're motivated by the issue primarily). But then these people are most likely to burn out, because without formal recognition of the power they need to achiev…

Do you have any links? I'd love to read more. How did they suggest dealing with changes over time, as members join and leave or shift roles as the organisation changes?

http://blog.crisp.se/2017/02/19/maxwenzin/reactions-on-no-ce... and http://dna.crisp.se/docs/index.html