
First, Let’s Fire All the Managers - aard
https://hbr.org/2011/12/first-lets-fire-all-the-managers
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mark_l_watson
“The problem isn’t the occasional control freak; it’s the hierarchical
structure that systematically disempowers lower-level employees”

so true. People do better work and are happier when they feel like they have
control of what they work on.

Our family eats Morning Star veggie burgers - really interesting to read about
their distributed non-management style.

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anotheryou
I'm not sure the tomato business translates well to IT.

I'm a project/product manager and I'm writing specifications, give an answer
if someone is unsure about how to do something, link departments, contact the
outside, try to find ways to improve weak work.

While I try to make my team self-sufficient, it surely doesn't default to it.

Programmers forget to remind marketing of releases, front-end guys don't talk
enough to the designers, QA as the last link has to work overtime when time is
scarce, programmers writing UI ignoring all conventions and of course the
common disagreement that dissolves in to nothing with a hint of counseling.

Any tips for making myself less needed? I really try, but giving away
responsibilities most often fails. I recently started tracking delegated tasks
so things are actually done at some point (devs have tickets, but other
departments don't).

With demanding upper management everyone also feels like he has no time to do
anything other than "his job" regarding further responsibilities (even though
the team is generally great and thinking along well).

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neotrope
Sounds a lot like [https://www.holacracy.org](https://www.holacracy.org)

Without experiencing holacracy to base my comments on, I’d guess these
organizations struggle in big ways when pursuing unpopular ideas:

    
    
        - Hard times that require shuttering a dept or laying off employees 
        - Executing against an expensive long-term vision

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mikestew
Seeing as how the title paraphrases Shakespeare, I'm not sure what to make of
the fact that "first, let's kill all of the lawyers" was in reference to
making a less-than-admirable character king. It's a compliment to the legal
system, not looking to tear it down.

[https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/17/nyregion/l-kill-the-
lawye...](https://www.nytimes.com/1990/06/17/nyregion/l-kill-the-lawyers-a-
line-misinterpreted-599990.html)

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1auralynn
Anyone who wants a deeper dive into this stuff should read the book
Reinventing Organizations, which goes into detail about Morningstar as well as
several other "self-management" organizations. Really great read.

[https://www.amazon.com/Reinventing-Organizations-Creating-
In...](https://www.amazon.com/Reinventing-Organizations-Creating-Inspired-
Consciousness-ebook/dp/B00ICS9VI4)

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minicoolva
I don't need manager. I need self managed colleague

