Bureaucracy & Learning

Bureaucracy literally means 'Rulership from the Desk or Office'. The problem with bureaucracy: the action rarely takes place at "the desk".

Bureaucracy kills the real feedback loop: action-consequence.

The best way to learn if something works, is to do it and see what happens.

In a bureaucratic system, decisions are taken from a place removed from where the real action is happening. Not on the front lines, but from the (centralised) office.

This not only means that the people taking the decisions are not directly involved in executing them and seeing what happens first hand. It also means that the people performing the actions have not made the decision to do so.

That not only stops the decision maker from learning - as they gain no experience of the direct consequences.

It also stops the people doing the work from learning - as they have made no decision about their actions.

If you want an organisation (or any system) to learn, you need a feedback loop. Centralisation slows learning.

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The benefit of centralised decision making:

Skilful bureaucracy and centralisation reduces unexpected outcomes in the short term. There is one place where all actions are coordinated from.

Zoomed in enough, this looks like stability.

The other side of that coin?

The feedback that the decision makers get is either based on long term consequences, or on second-hand stories. Because this feedback loop is so slow and detached, it can take much longer for real issues to surface. In the long run, it increases unexpected outcomes.

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What if you amped up the learning potential in stead?

A shared direction, with autonomy on the decision making.

The minimum viable amount of centralised alignment, and putting the rest of the decisions in a place where its consequences are felt. And then: letting it happen.

Zoomed in enough, this looks like chaos. Zoomed out enough, this looks like stability.

The question isn't if you want stability or learning.

The real question is: do you want instability to happen in the short term or the long term?

I'm Roshan de Jong. I help organisations build systems that scale their impact. Working on something cool? Say 'hi!'