X-Teams, Revised and Updated

2 An Exponentially Changing World New Kinds of Organizations, New Kinds of Teams

Walk into many businesses today and you’ll see organizations that resemble neither the hierarchical behemoths of a decade ago nor the companies in which the “organization man” of the 1950s worked.¹ Instead of org charts where arrows point from the boss’s name to row upon row of employees, today the lines may radiate out horizontally or circularly, illustrating cooperative rather than linear reporting relationships. Even the look and feel of companies, from software firms to banks to small businesses, has loosened up. The boss’s corner office has been replaced by a room with sofas and tables where small groups collaborate; the manager’s designated parking spot ...