ideas*

At ideas* one of our core philosophies is the power of relationships. That a strong relationship is worth more than a mountain of rules, procedures and bureaucracy.

Matt at 37signals explores this concept.

If you go to a cocktail party where everyone is a stranger, the conversation is dull and stiff. You make small talk about the weather, sports, TV shows, etc. You shy away from serious conversations and controversial opinions.

A small, intimate dinner party among old friends is a different story, though. There are genuinely interesting conversations and heated debates. At the end of the night, you feel like you actually got something out of it.

At many large companies this ‘stranger at a cocktail party’ raises it’s head.

There are always new faces around so everyone is unfailingly polite. Everyone tries to avoid any conflict or drama. No one says, “This idea sucks.” People appease instead of challenge. And that appeasement is what gets companies into trouble. You need to be able to tell people when they’re full of crap.

We find that in a large organisation as personal relationships are not essential and individuals are easily able to avoid each small conflicts can fester and become destructive without resolution (sounds a lot like the French football team at the world cup.

The flip side of this is when small companies try to work for large bureaucrats. Seth Godin discusses how design firms, creative firms, accountants etc. that successfully deal with large corporations need a much wider skill set than just the job at hand.

In my experience, 40% of the fee goes for the work and 60% goes to pay for the do-overs, staffing, project management and hassle that comes from working from big organizations and committees.

Posted June 23, 2010 by by Mike Percy