The Wall Street Journal recently wrote virtually some tech companies that had no managers, or at to the lowest degree very few. The software company 37signals, for instance, has been around for 14 years. It's pocket-sized, sells products for collaboration among remote workers (I've used i in the past and it worked reasonably well), and is leery of having managers:

[Co-founder Jason] Fried previously oversaw the company's principal product, Basecamp, in add-on to looking after other products and setting strategy. But he was stretched so sparse that key decisions about the project-direction software, which serves every bit a hub for workers to share letters, interact on documents and talk over ideas, were sometimes left hanging for weeks or months.

Instead of managers, the visitor looks for people who can direct their own work and actually produce something, rather than spotter others produce.

Anarcho-what?

The idea isn't new, at least in tech. Video gaming company Valve has 400 employees and no bosses. Instead, it uses a model called anarcho-syndicalism:

Anarcho-syndicalism is an economical theory with roots in the early 19th century that articulates a form of government in which self-organized cliques of labor work together to directly achieve goals. In essence: socialism minus centralized government plus trade unions.

The way this manifests at Valve is that, after an endogenous process in which a self-organized committee hires a new employee, he or she is free to join and freely move around whatsoever of the company's myriad of projects. Where Google boasts 20 percent free time for its employees, Valve boasts 100 gratuitous fourth dimension.

Earlier you get too excited...

Before you rub your easily together, cackle "Hot damn!," and burn down all your managers, though, there are some large problems you'll have to consider.

  • Many entrepreneurs--maybe even you--have a hefty dose of ego. That's natural. How do yous pursue an idea while everyone tells you how dumb it is? Y'all need plenty conventionalities in yourself to carry on. However, ego can run abroad with itself and kickoff doing things like insisting on "earth-class" managers because, afterward all, if y'all're getting bigger, you should have more than people available to piece of work and reporting to you lot. As they say in mathematics, you tin can only optimize for 1 variable in a trouble. In this instance, your choices are to make the visitor run better or to make yourself feel better--for now. Choose wisely.
  • Rent advisedly. You need to find employees who really want the visitor to succeed and who are very expert at what they exercise. They should likewise take enough flexibility of outlook and mental attitude that they could take up something else in the company if it were necessary. These are the people who will make decisions that affect how the company runs, and their decisions may non exist yours. Again, decided whether you desire a successful company or ego strokes.
  • Bone up on how to brand leadership from peers piece of work. Everyone has to be set to take responsibleness if they perceive it equally necessary, only likewise to listen to others when they are leading. A not bad read is the Valve new employee handbook. You lot company may not run exactly the aforementioned way, but seeing the questions and considerations that come up at a place that has made this arrangement work is worth doing.
  • Be set to pay well. You lot're non going to get rid of managers, put employees in the commuter's seat, and get away with paying as piddling every bit possible. It's another area where employees will become involved in setting standards and even specific compensation. If everything isn't transparent, this entire experiment will fall apart.

Although this has been applied in tech, there is no intrinsic reason why a managing director-less construction couldn't work in other industries. Go people focused on what creates value for the company, reward them with similar value, and learn to stay out of the manner.