In a traditional Fiat business, there is an imposed chain of command. If you are attempting to solve a problem that is out of your purview, you have to consult your boss. If your boss can’t make a unilateral decision, he must pass it up the chain of command even if it is something that you can solve with a few resources. This is particularly true if it impacts people or resources controlled by another boss.

We experience a lot of this in the form of email chains,

• You send an email to your boss asking for permission to get some resources to, let’s say, purchase a tool.
• It turns out the tool cost is just above your boss’ authorization limit. So he asks his boss.
• His boss says he needs to consult another boss.
• Questions may arise, which then have to come down the chain, to you.
• Your answer goes back up the chain.
• Afterwards, the decision to proceed is made. Or not.

These traversals cost time and information.

Time Loss

Time is obvious. For example, an email gets fired off, but then sits in somebody’ inbox for three days before being read. Those types of things add up and mean that a problem that is initially just a minor difficulty, can escalate into an emergency while you are waiting.

Time delay is felt very directly, and it can create apathy as people get beaten down to accept how long things take. After a while, you end up throwing problems over the proverbial cubicle wall, into someone else’s “court” and you’ve covered your ass.

Information Loss

Information is a more subtle problem in these communication chains. It comes in the form of fractional losses that add up as the message goes through the hierarchical chain.

Let’s say that when you send your message, 95% of it is understood. This means that 5% of the information is misunderstood or lost. In many cases, the message either sits in somebody’s inbox or, especially when people are overloaded, they might just read a few lines of the email before forwarding it (to cover their ass).

It's a loss that is experienced every time a message goes up and down the chain. If the message traverses three times, you can experience anywhere from 5% to 15%. It can be even worse if a critical part of the information gets lost or “softened” as it moves up and down the chain. Without it, people may not even understand the message. So, a a “clarification” meeting is called. This means that Fiat organizations attempt to combat information loss with more time loss.

Dealing with Loss

For each of these problems there are a host of patches people have devised to combat them: stand-up meetings, Agile, managing by walking around, and open-door management. The list is almost endless and is endemic to Fiat hierarchies and its 19th century way of running a business. But we don’t have to accept these mind-numbing “solutions” anymore.

Now if I just said, “throw out this old way of doing stuff,” it would imply a painful loss that has to be mourned. Alternatively, we can reframe them as learning experiences that can catapult us into a better life.

The Radical Model

In the Radical model, communications would look something like this,

• You discover a problem that is a bit outside your purview.
• Luckily, there is no boss and you do not have to ask them for permission.
• You can not wield the entire budget of resources directly, but you can put up a Banner for the tool you want to buy.
• Someone else sees the Banner, reads the description of the tool, and how much you need. They decide to give you some of their resources to help you buy it.
• When the Banner is fully funded, you order it.

There is still information loss, but it’s minimal. Any questions that arise can be resolved in conversation with you and you may even add it to the Banner’s FAQ. The unavoidable communication loss that happens in Fiat organizations, and that many of us have experienced, is entirely bypassed. In the Radical model, information is refined without wasteful formal meetings. Your peers, your colleagues, who are also close to the problem are able to share their own resources with you. The Radical model is fundamentally faster because it decentralizes decision-making and resources.

Shorter and Efficient

If my description of problem solving in a Radical company seems shorter to you, it is because it is actually shorter: you post a Banner, have a few conversations, and your peers support you. Even if they don’t fully fund your Banner, you learn (e.g., alternative ways of addressing the problem).

Interminable meetings are avoided. People who are not close to the problem will likely not participate at all (unless they are curious). There is no “covering your ass” actions needed. Instantaneous and lossless communication will forever be elusive, but Radical supports a shorter and more efficient form of communication.

Power is decentralized as well. There’s no one “above” or “below” you, but power comes as a function of decentralized decision-making and resources.

People in Radical organizations are more effective.