PEER-BASED THINKING

Peer-based thinking allows everyone to find their unique talents and make their authentic contribution to create a stronger organization than ever thought possible. It does not reduce everyone to sameness, for in peer-based organizations there will not necessarily be equal talents, or equal outcomes , or even equal opportunities, but there will be equal standing with an openness that invites individuals to find their own level and degree of contribution. Already there are organizations that realize there is more intelligence and energy in an organization of peers than in an organization that values only the top few. Four such successful, peer-based, nearly leaderless organizations (discussed in greater detail later in the book) are listed here:

1. Semco, a company based in S & pound ;o Paulo, Brazil, is mentored by its maverick owner, Ricardo Semler. It has been consistently profitable in a country with one of the most unstable governments and highly inflationary economies in the world.

2. The Orpheus Chamber Orchestra in Manhattan is internationally recognized and Grammy nominated. Since its inception in 1970, this world-class orchestra has worked without a conductor. ^[1]

3. W. L. Gore & Associates, in Newark, Delaware, is a chemical engineering and product manufacturing company famous for its lack of assigned leaders and managers.

4. Motek, in Beverly Hills, California, is a vibrant company that develops supply chain execution software solutions for warehousing and distribution companies.

All four of these organizations have realized that to access and unleash its inherent intelligence and energy, an organization must adopt new management thinking contrary to ranking.

^[1] Executive Director Harvey Seifter and Peter Economy wrote a book detailing the journey entitled Leadership Ensemble: Lessons in Collaborative Management from the World's Only Conductorless Orchestra (New York: Times Books, 2001).