Coherence in Distributed Management

By Ashish Arora

Recently, I met a friend whom I had known only through Zoom for the past four years. We were seated at the airport with just an hour before his flight. Our conversation touched on the topic of money, specifically our personal relationships with it—the kind of exploration we often do at Greaterthan through The Money Game. He shared an interesting conversation he once had with his politician friend.

“I dream of making a billion dollars so that I can do the work for the people that I wish to do,” his friend had told him.

This idea of making money as a means to serve the public good sparked some thoughts in me. “Reflecting on your friend’s intention,” I said, “it seems he’s aligned with our dominant hierarchical management paradigm, where money flows primarily from the top down. While there’s nothing wrong with that, it’s just one way of doing things.”

“What could be other ways then?” my friend asked curiously.

“Well, the other end of the spectrum might involve a distributed design, sort of a movement, where money isn’t the central focus. In this setup, money would come into play locally or regionally, generated and used contextually. For example, consider how SN Goenka Ji’s Vipassana centers operate worldwide. Each of the 160+ centers independently manages its finances and operations. Similarly, Gandhi Ji’s non-violent movement might have functioned in a distributed manner.”

“But what holds these efforts together?” he asked. “Don’t we need some kind of coherence?”

“You’re absolutely right,” I replied. “I think the coherence comes from the purpose, or sometimes from a group of people holding the context, energy or intention. As I reflect further, I see there is a form of hierarchy, though dynamic and very light in nature, that provides this coherence. In the case of Vipassana, the coherence stems from the centralized guidance on teachings, structure, and the constitution of the centers. For Gandhi Ji’s movement, coherence likely arose from his and his colleagues’ charisma and the shared purpose that inspired people.

“So, yes,” I concluded, “it seems to be a mix of distributed-ness and dynamic hierarchy. A bit of hierarchy serves as the umbrella fabric that weaves these distributed efforts together, providing coherence.”

How do you perceive coherence in a distributed setup? Would you describe it as ‘a bit of hierarchy’? I’m eager to hear your views based on your experiences and context.

Coming up @ Greaterthan

Event | AI for Teaming: February 20, 5-7 PM CET

Join Lucas Pe?a and Manel Heredero to explore how the AI revolution can help us connect, collaborate and work better together.

Thriving Networks | starting February 6: Take your impact network or community to the next level and address common challenges around money, value and leadership.

The Money Game Experience: February 24 and March 17 (English), February 14 (French)

Liberating Structures Studio | starting February 25: Up your facilitation game with the Liberating Structures Toolkit!

Lastly, if you wish to dive even deeper into understanding your relationship with money to re-invent your life and business, join our academy partner’s CU*money course from March 6, 2025. The teaser event is scheduled on February 6.?

With loads of love,?

Ashish, Susan and Greaterthan Crew