Wirearchy

September 23rd, 2008 | general

Wirearchy - a dynamic two-way flow of power and authority based on knowledge, trust, credibility and a focus on results, enabled by interconnected people and technology.

Jon Husband and I met the afternoon before the official kick-off of KM World in San Jose to talk about how networks are fundamentally re-structuring the world of business.

What Is Wirearchy ?

We all know and understand hierarchy - the enduring principle of the institutions that govern us and in which we work and live. The people at the top of the institutions control the agendas and make the decisions.

And yet, taking decisions and managing organized activities are being impacted in powerful ways by interconnected networks of people and technology. The Internet is connecting customers, employees and communities and empowering them with information in ways never before possible.

Every week the impact of hyperlinked, horizontal and vertical networks is being felt more clearly and in more insistent ways. The impacts are creating new dynamics in organizations as well as emergent forms of organized activities that are based on participation and peer-to-peer interaction, resulting in nimble, responsive, and results-focused networked group / team structures.

And … over the last five years, it has become pretty darned clear that the impacts of these living social networks will only grow, both in depth and reach.

A shift in the ways activities are planned and managed is occurring in many spheres of human activity, from command-and-control to coordinate-and-channel,. When customers have more power and employees want to communicate and be heard, the dynamics have to change.

A new organizing principle is emerging, called Wirearchy …

a dynamic two-way flow of power and authority based on information, knowledge, trust and credibility,
enabled by interconnected people and technology

Wirearchy will continue to emerge and have impact. The generations coming into the workplace have interactive games, ICQ, Napster and chat rooms under their skin. They’re equipped with smarter software, and they take interconnectedness for granted - it’s second nature to them.