Catalysts: Or the reluctance of giving and receiving orders

I have a problem, or several - depends how much time you have. This one in particular stems from the fact that in business, people like to put you in a box. On one hand, that's how companies function and haven't figured out a way to do it other than a command-and-control approach relying on the fact that people need to first be in boxes and then told what to do.
    What makes this difficult is that on the other hand, markets, opportunities and development in general is moving at an ever increasing pace, where the old command-and-control needs to give way to a new kind of 'hive-mind', where people spontaneously re-organise themselves to deal with a particular problem or exploit a new opportunity. Doing things the old way, by boxes and waiting for orders from the top is simply too slow to react to many things. But how else to do it?
    On one hand, values are what bring people together better and more efficiently than boxes. Breaking down boxes also create room to deal with previously unforeseen situations - it puts emphasis on people's knowledge and experience, more than restrictive 'roles and responsibilities' the modus operandi becomes the potential to outgrow those roles than merely sticking to them blinkering oneself to things going on nearby. It is an approach which encourages knowing what is wrong with any given product or situation, but equally, taking the view that one has power to find solutions and not being discouraged when the solutions produce unexpected results.
    There used to be a clear division between people who give orders and those who receive them. There is a third group, previously rarely recognised, but a crucial component in making the 'hive-mind' work and those are the intermediaries. Intermediaries are catalysts who can achieve more than their own personal talents permit. The idea of catalysis gives intermediaries a new status. Previously, they were mere links or hyphens, supplying needs felt by others. As catalysts, by contrast, they have an independent existence or purpose: they can create new situations and transform people's lives by bringing them together, without having any arrogant pretensions themselves. To be a catalyst is the ambition most appropriate for those who see the world as being in constant change, and who, without thinking they can control it, wish to influence its direction.
    Most advances in science have been the result of intermediaries venturing beyond the boundaries or the paradigms of their disciplines, uniting insights which come from different kingdoms of knowledge. Designers, regularly need to combine insights, advances in technology and opportunities and experiences to create new product innovation. Musicians have probably been the most important intermediaries of the emotions, bringing together people whom mere words divide.
    Archimedes, of Syracuse (287-212 BC) once famously said, after inventing the lever, "Give me a place to stand on and I could move the earth'. Intermediaries follow that principle: the way for the weak to move the strong is not by force but by modifying their relationship, changing the angle of approach. When the Romans invaded Sicily, and a a soldier entered Archimedes' house to arrest him, the mathematician asked him to wait while he finished solving a problem: the soldier was impatient and ran a sword through him. The trouble with the method of intermediaries is that is requires a great deal of patience and, above all, an ability to cope with fear.

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[Imran Anwar]

Cecilia, I saw your link on Guy Kawasaki's site and decided to come take a read. I agree with the points you make, and I have had the experience of what you speak about. Generally, the larger the company the harder it is be un-boxed UNLESS you have an entrepreneurial head honcho (e.g. Mir Shakil ur Rehman, Chief Editor, Chairman and owner of largest newspaper/media chain in Pakistan JANG and GEO.TV, in my case) who pulled together rapid-action teams to work on projects/opportunities as they came about. He would do this way back even in the 80's when I worked with him. I also saw a similar model at SVIP (later Viant) in NY where I worked with some of the best, smartest, and intelligent people. Very flexible, everyone willing/wanting to do everything... So, yes, it is possible but needs to come from top management/ownership.

Regards

Imran Anwar
http://imran.TV