Hack:
Digital Freedom

The important debate we're embarking upon is at the heart of the management challenge.  Of course, it is a topic that goes back at least 50 years to McGregor's Theory Y and Theory X.

For my two cents, I would just like to caution against framing the argument as being between the two alternatives given:  command management and results-only autonomy.  I believe both are flawed.

Not much needs to be added to the argument against command-and-control leadership in today's business environment. The business section of your local bookstore serves up many great books from this camp. But, even as a long-time Theory Y advocate, I actually prefer command and control management to results-only autonomy. The reason is that results-only autonomy implies that each individual has a defined set of outcomes for which they are accountable and upon which their contribution to the enterprise can be measured. Wrong.

When I think about the name of the Best Buy program (Results-Only Work Environment) and read that employees could unilaterally decide when and where to work, I can only assume that this freedom was based on the premise that whenever or wherever an employee works is OK as long as they deliver on their personal commitments. The problem is that it assumes the whole equals the sum of the parts.  No, we cannot optimize the whole by optimizing each of the parts separately.

The success of an organization depends not on how well all of the parts works but on how well all of the parts work together. The work of management is making sure the parts work together.  Individuals persuing isolated results is counter to this goal and, I would assert, freedom run amuk.