Man refusing an offer of money. (Portrait of Edwin A. Finckel and Boyd Raeburn, Edwin A. Finckel's home, Greenwich Village, New York, N.Y., ca. July 1946, by William P. Gottlieb. From the William P. Gottlieb Collection [Library of Congress])

Read an extended exchange on Requisite Organization

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Almost a decade ago now, readers got into a discussion within the comments about Elliott Jaques’s Requisite Organization and management. Since the commenters included the illustrious Glenn Mehltretter of PeopleFit USA; my one-time writing partner, “APFG”, now an executive himself; and my long-time friends, “J” and “JmmJ” (then a plant manager and IT specialist, respectively; it’s not the usual comment …

Off shore oil rig by sunset (California). Via photoeverywhere.co.uk

A Decade of Requisite Organization: Celebrating 10 years of writing about the work of Elliott Jaques

Forrest Christianrequisite organization 4 Comments

In November 2013, I celebrated a decade of writing about Elliott Jaques. Let’s look back on the last ten years of articles, shifting ideas, and learning, and maybe see where things are going for the next decade. In 2003, I lost what will likely be the most promising job I’ll ever have. It happened quickly, falling apart so that I …

Domestic goat smile, Crimea, 2009. By George Chernilevsky. Public Domain

Hogan’s Law of Consistency & Law of Conformity

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Maybe Kevin Hogan has summed the real reason that people don’t adopt the ideas of requisite organization / stratified systems theory. We know that people will hear the ideas, acknowledge that they represent an underlying reality and even admit that if they were adopted many of their complaints would be addressed. And then they say “No way am I going …

Air Traffic Controller 2nd Class Branden Powell keeps track of aircraft using a SPN-43 radar screen during routine flight operations on board amphibious assault ship USS Tarawa (LHA 1). Tarawa is participating in a composite unit training exercise with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit off the coast of Southern California. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Bryan Niegel (RELEASED)

Perhaps Requisite Organization is going viral under the radar! (A Response to ‘Why RO Will Not Survive (or will it?)’)

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My article, “Why Requisite Organization Will Not Survive (or will it?)“, recently generated some new discussion. Here’s a well-argued response from Ken Shepard, President of the Global Organization Design Society, which is a leading professional group for managers and practitioners interested in Requisite Organization and one that I recommend you joining. — EFC The Global Organization Design Society’s response: Perhaps …

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Why Time Span of Discretion Works

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Timespan of Discretion is the biggest point of complaint that the old folks in the Glacier Metal related work (Requisite Organization, Stratified Systems Theory, Career Path Appreciation, work levels or worklevels, etc.). If you’re new, you may be scratching your head about this Time Span of Discretion. Elliott Jaques claimed to have discovered that you could determine the complexity of …

Winter night, looking down to Chateau D'Oex. (c) 2008 E. Forrest Christian. All rights reserved.

Does Requisite Organization really work over a weekend? (REDUX)

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Eight years ago, back when I was Google-ranked #1 or #2 for such things, I asked if the Requisite Organization of Elliott Jaques would really work wonders over a weekend, as Dr. Jaques implied in his book, Requisite Organization (2nd Ed.). Paul Tremlett had an interesting take from conversations with the late Dr. Jaques. My best recollection of EJ on …

Wilfred Brown, ca. 1970. From the Glacier Institute of Management's film series

Exploration in Management: Free training by Wilfred Brown on requisite organizations

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The most important CEO management thinker you’ve never heard of — Lord Wilfred Brown, Managing Director (CEO) of Glacier Metal Company in the UK — gives you the lowdown on how organizations can be structured to create trust, democracy and shareholder value in this amazing management film training series from the early 1970s. This isn’t some pie-in-the-sky theory from an …

Candle in stump holder. (c) J. Samuel Burner (CCA-2.0) http://www.flickr.com/people/lobsterstew/

Why Requisite Organization Will Not Survive (Or Will It?)

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UPDATE: Ken Shepard, President of the Global Organization Design Society, has written a response: Perhaps Requisite Organization is going viral under the radar! I’ve been wondering lately if Requisite Organization (the ideas formulated by Elliott Jaques) will survive for much longer. The GO Society identified several years ago that most of their members were “gray” — retirees or close to …