What Is Wirearchy ?

Over the past 8 years, thousands of people have asked me “

what iswirearchy ?

“.There’s one common misconception that I’d like to clear up first, whichis that wirearchy is mainly about technology. If anything, wirearchy isabout the power and effectiveness of people working together throughconnection and collaboration … taking responsibility individually andcollectively rather than relying on traditional hierarchical status.Most people today know that the Internet and the Web have had a lotof impact on our daily lives .. we’ve seen the rise (and sometimes fall)of initiatives like Napster, Amazon, eBay, Dell, blogging, Flickr,MySpace, YouTube, advertising’s ongoing (and increasinglycontentious) shift to the Web, and the rise of a vast networked rangeof political and information-gathering and dissemination activities.In that context of ubiquitous impact, reams have been written aboutthe erosion of the effectiveness of command-and control as thedominant model for leading and managing purposeful organizedactivities in business, education, government and governance, politics,culture and the arts … all the areas in which humans act together tocreate and get things done. That mode of getting things done isevolving to champion-and-channel …

championing

ideas andinnovation, and

channeling

time, energy, authority and resources totesting those ideas and innovative possibilities).Wirearchy is an (emerging) primary organizing principle. As such, itcan be used to better understand and act regarding being effective inan interconnected networked world.The working definition of Wirearchy is “

a dynamic two-way flow of power and authority, based on knowledge, trust, credibility and a focus on results, enabled by interconnected people and technology”.

I believe the shift in power and authority is showing up in clear waysall around us, for better and for worse. The shift can be seen in dailyevents and in the ways peoples’ working lives and behaviours arechanging, in the ways they are becoming more or less well-informed,and in consumption patterns for much of what they are buying andusing.Examples are reported on regularly, as the impacts of living in thedigital infrastructure of an electronic age take root. It is clearlyimplied by the phenomenon of e-everything. Interconnected access toinformation, knowledge and instantaneous communications providesthe modern equivalent to the dynamics created by the invention of theprinting press - information gets distributed (much) more widely andin many cases almost instantly … certainly at speeds that allow therhythm of a conversation back and forth but in ways that leave apragmatic actionable record of that conversation.Today’s rapid flows of information are like electronic grains of sand,eroding the pillars of rigid traditional hierarchies. This new set of conditions is having real impact on organizational structures and thedynamics the generate, contain and also block, which in turn aremaking for massive change in the ways we do things and behave.Some of this is exhilarating, and great. Some of it is not. Some of it isabout greater confusion, stress and frantic action. Some of it is aboutclarity, calm and right action.Polarities are appearing everywhere. Different dimensions anddynamics of influence, power and control are emerging at variousnodes of the interconnected workplace and world.

The last thirty years have been about the building of the technicalinfrastructure that provides an interconnected world. The integratedplatform for a transformation to economies and a world driven by thecommunication and exchange of information is now solidly in place.The next fifty years will almost certainly be about learning how we willbehave in an interconnected world and workplace.The dynamics of wirearchy are similar to, and different than,traditional hierarchy - yet need effective and transparent hierarchicalstructure and action to work smoothly.

What Wirearchy Means For You

As a Leader

- become deeply aware of and truly mindful about thescope and reach of interconnected markets and flows of information.Understand how and why people are connecting, talking, sharinginformation. Be prepared to listen deeply, be responsible, accountableand transparent.

As a Manager

- become knowledgeable about online work systemsand how the need for collaboration is changing the nature of work,generally - and the nature of managerial work specifically. Learninghow to be an effective coach is all-important.

As an Employee

- become more aware of the changing nature of work, and the traditional structures of authority. Develop a clearunderstanding of how to be both empowered and valuable and of service. Understand how to navigate on one’s own through aconstantly shifting landscape of work.

As a Citizen

- understand the possibilities and responsibilities inherentin open and public dissemination of information. Understand andexercise the responsibilities of citizenship in a country. Understandhow to have influence via electronic participation and collaboration.