PROCESS - 5. Who decides what?

Every company has an org chart; it’s an official document available mostly on the intranet. International companies are trying to find solutions to become low pyramid organizations. In the books “Let my People go surfing” or “No ruoles rules” is clear that successful companies such as Patagonia or Netflix need to find a new way of organizing themselves because control and bureaucratic rules are no longer an option.

Both authors of those books and companies addressed in them are Americans and we know that not in every Country it’s so easy to destroy a pyramid vision of the organization. What’s important to know is that in every company, in every country in the world, there is both a formal org chart and a “live org chart”. You should know who covers the role but also who is the decision maker and sometimes they differ.

When you are responsible for other countries, you need to understand who really is in charge of the different activities but especially who really is the owner and would put those in place. You should understand who to ask for something specific, who has the knowledge but also the concrete owner that is going to help or support you.

It’s not easy to know “live org charts” of different countries because you don’t experience that environment, country, office on a day to day basis. It’s like reading about your Company from outside on internet or newspapers, it’s not the same.?

So during the mutual knowledge analyze the org chart but don’t forget to ask or understand who is really the decision maker in that particular area!