The Three Ways of Getting Things Done: Hierarchy, Heterarchy and Responsible Autonomy in Organizations [Paperback]

"Imagine a company without bosses. Impossible? I would be inclined to agree, but Gerard Fairtlough, author of a new book called The Three Ways of Getting Things Done, begs to differ and, the more I listen to his arguments, the more I believe he is on to something. Mr Fairtlough, a biochemist, former Shell executive and founder of Celltech, the UK biotechnology company that was sold in 2004 to UCB, the Belgian biopharmaceutical company, for GBP1.5 bn, believes that for too long society has accepted hierarchy as the natural order of organisations. The pecking order, after all, is a common feature of animal communities, but there are instances where some animal groups - meerkats for example - have developed interchanging roles for the good of the colony. Even here, however, there are alpha males and females. Mr Fairtlough believes what he calls our "addiction to hierarchy" is draining the energy of collaborative projects and sometimes failing, as a result, to either recognise or pay due regard to the input of able individuals whose significant contributions can be overlooked in a formal reporting structure." Richard Donkin, Financial Times

An organization must have a hierarchy. That's the conventional wisdom. It's what everyone believes. It's also the easy and familiar option. Many think that the only alternative is chaos. They think proper organizations need hierarchy to get things done effectively. But hierarchy is just one possible way of getting things done in an organization. This book looks objectively at hierarchy and shows us why it has such a grip on us. It also shows how well the alternatives can work in practice. The book is vital reading for anyone who wants organizations to work better.

An organization must have a hierarchy. That’s the conventional wisdom, It’s what everyone believes. It’s also the easy and familiar option. Many think the only alternative is chaos. They think proper organizations need hierarchy to get things done effectively.

But hierarchy is just one possible way for getting things done in organizations. This book looks objectively at hierarchy and shows why it has such a grip on us. It also shows how well the alternatives to hierarchy can work in practice. It aims to stop people believing hierarchy is inevitable or and sacred.

Gerard Fairtlough has had a long career in business and public life. He started out accepting the conventional view of hierarchy. But experience led him to question this view and to formulate clearly what the real alternatives are.

The Three Ways of Getting Things Done is vital reading for anyone who wants organizations to work better. It will help business to be more profitable, government to be more effective, schools and colleges to give a better education. It will help all organizations become better places to work in.

Gerard Fairtlough was trained as a biochemist, graduating from Cambridge University in 1953. He worked in the Royal Dutch Shell group for 25 years, the last five as CEO of Shell Chemicals U.K. In 1980 he founded the leading biopharmaceuticals company Celltech and was its CEO until 1990. Since then he has been involved in the start-up of several high-technology businesses, as a non-executive director or as a 'business angel'. He has been an advisor to various government and academic institutions, including Specialist Advisor to the House of Commons Select Committee on Science and Technology, a member of the Science and Engineering Council, and Chair of the Advisory Panel, Science Policy Research Unit, Sussex University. Gerard is also the author of Creative Compartments: A Design for Future Organisation (Adamantine Press, London, 1994), and co-author with Julie Allan and Barbara Heinzen of The Power of the Tale: Using Narratives for Organisational Success (Wiley, Chichester, 2001). He has also written extensively on the theory and practice of organizations and of innovation.