Brave New Work

Are your workplace processes empowering innovation or suffocating it? "Brave New Work" reveals how to transform rigid organizations into adaptable, human-centered forces for growth.

1. Traditional organizations are stuck in self-sabotage

Many workplace systems replicate World War Two sabotage methods unintentionally. These procedures force employees to follow outdated rules, stalling decisions and productivity. Despite technological advances, company lifespans and productivity growth are declining.

Traditional organizations’ struggles show up in metrics like falling return on assets, which in the US has dropped from 5% in 1965 to just over 1% today. Lifespan on the S&P 500 has fallen steeply from over 60 years to about ten. Employees, bound by layers of bureaucracy, often find simple tasks unnecessarily complicated, hindering their ability to innovate and adapt.

The story of sabotage outlines this vividly. Systems requiring rigorous processes, where every decision needs approval, mimic a system designed for disruption. Current practices in many workplaces align with these sabotage techniques, draining resources and time.

Examples

• Companies demand chains of permission for trivial expenses.
• Employees lose time getting approvals for small decisions.
• Organizational overcontrol discourages creative problem-solving.

2. Bureaucracy creates debt in workplaces

Unnecessary workplace rules accumulate over time and drag organizations down. Procedures designed to fix past issues grow outdated, leaving companies struggling under a heavy burden of inefficiencies.

Think of a factory worker who needs new gloves but must follow a 30-minute process to obtain them. Such bureaucracy wastes resources while solving minor problems at a disproportionate cost. This organizational debt stems from reactionary rule-making that ignores long-term consequences.

As these outdated structures pile up, they distort workflows rather than streamlining them. Over-relying on bureaucracy pushes businesses into sluggish processes that bleed time and money.

Examples

• Safety equipment access at certain factories demands paperwork even for minor replacements.
• Team leaders spend hours chasing minor approvals instead of solving meaningful problems.
• Outdated policies keep companies rigid while competitors adapt.

3. Legacy systems treat workers as machines

Frederick Winslow Taylor laid the groundwork for “Legacy OS” with his time-study methods over a century ago. He proposed that managers innovate while workers simply follow, fragmenting duties and removing autonomy.

This operating system assumes humans thrive on strict rules and clear top-down direction. But treating people like interchangeable parts leads to stagnation. Workers with no agency disengage, resulting in poor productivity.

Despite being a product of the industrial revolution, many organizations still rely on this system, forgetting that modern problems require creative, autonomous humans who can think critically.

Examples

• Pre-Taylor systems had craftsmen self-organizing their work but were later divided into hierarchical roles.
• Legacy systems reward strict adherence to established rules over innovation.
• Managers waste time micromanaging tasks, leaving employees uninspired.

4. Organizations are complex systems

Most workplaces are treated like machines — complicated but reactive to input. In reality, they function as complex systems where behaviors and outcomes can't always be predicted.

Organizations are fundamentally human, unlike machines that simply follow rules. Complex systems must be managed with experimentation and adaptability rather than rigid plans or overly prescriptive processes. Leaders misstep by forcing systems to behave predictably, ignoring the dynamic nature of their workforce.

To address complexity, leaders must embrace unpredictability and let systems evolve organically rather than fake-clean orderly models.

Examples

• Traffic is unpredictable despite rules, just as teams sometimes need freedom to adapt.
• Adjusting one “cog” of a team doesn’t guarantee consistent results.
• Rolling out universal rules often fails to account for team-specific nuances.

5. The roundabout is better than a traffic signal

Organizations can function more effectively when designed like roundabouts, which rely on trust and local decision-making, rather than traffic signals that control every move from a central point.

Roundabouts lead to fewer accidents, cost less, and continue working even during blackouts. Similarly, companies that grant employees autonomy and a non-hierarchical structure experience fewer bottlenecks and more innovation.

By trusting people to self-direct, organizations become more agile and capable of addressing complex challenges. Introducing human-centered management reduces friction and increases effectiveness.

Examples

• Decentralized companies encourage workers to decide how best to meet their goals.
• Organizations without micromanagement allow creativity to flourish.
• Roundabouts reduce delays and run smoother compared to signal-led intersections.

6. Foster flexibility through positivity and awareness

Evolutionary Organizations believe humans are capable of finding innovative, adaptive solutions. They reject micromanagement for flexible, trust-oriented growth approaches.

Take the USS Santa Fe submarine. Its captain empowered crew members to propose solutions, leading to an unprecedented performance spike. By encouraging ownership and autonomy, organizations embrace complexity with optimism rather than fear.

This approach builds workplace trust and confidence. Employees stop waiting for instructions to act and instead address challenges proactively, making collective improvement more likely.

Examples

• Organizations decentralizing decision-making often see faster resolutions.
• Teams that trust workers’ judgment can tackle uncertainties better.
• Positive environments foster long-term growth and trust.

7. Rethink structure to create opportunity

Traditional top-down structures suppress growth and innovation. But organizations like Morning Star and Buurtzorg show how decentralization can capitalize on complexity and individual strengths.

At Morning Star, employees write their own job descriptions and set salaries after peer review. Buurtzorg organizes nurses into self-managing teams, giving them autonomy while connecting them to a shared vision.

Allowing more flexible structures with community input leads to happier employees and faster, more effective outcomes. Rethinking standard roles encourages participation and creativity.

Examples

• Peer-reviewed job expectations align with team needs.
• Small self-directed teams accomplish more than large controlled groups.
• Flexible structures make accountability stronger and resistance to change lower.

8. Cut meetings; rethink hiring

Canceling unnecessary meetings creates space for meaningful collaboration. Many organizations waste millions yearly on unproductive gatherings.

Two-week meeting bans have shown that teams can function on far fewer meetings. When reintroducing them, it’s critical to focus on specific problems they solve.

When hiring, avoid merely looking for “culture fits.” Instead, seek people who contribute diverse new perspectives. Over-prioritizing alignment blocks innovation, making organizations stagnant.

Examples

• A leadership team reduced meeting hours by over half after a reset experiment.
• Eliminating meetings forces prioritization and trims unnecessary rituals.
• Facebook hires for both passion alignment and fresh ideas to maintain balance.

9. Embrace continuous transformation

Change isn't linear or one-time; it’s a constant effort to adapt to a moving target. Transformation requires an iterative approach of observation, experimentation, and learning.

Using “loops,” teams can test small, practical changes to ease workplace tensions. These adaptations help organizations stay flexible to evolving challenges.

Rather than planning step-by-step final destinations, leaders must learn to steer dynamic systems in real time, encouraging a mindset of permanent evolution.

Examples

• Continuous check-ins surface barriers early while encouraging progress.
• Small experiments, like adjusting meeting check-ins, eliminate friction.
• Teams evolve sustainably through gradual ongoing adaptation.

Takeaways

1. Identify one rigid rule or practice in your organization and test replacing it with a flexible alternative – experiment and evaluate the results.
2. Conduct a two-week meeting freeze, then reintroduce only the meetings that proved essential to productivity or morale.
3. Empower employees by delegating decision-making authority on at least one complex project, encouraging them to lead.