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swarms

Decentralization: Influence, not Authority

Power is the ability to do, or cause others to do, what would not otherwise have done. It comes in many forms. Authority is a power granted for a specific purpose within limits. Control is the ability to direct or restrain. Command is the power to make arbitrary decisions and compel obedience. Dominion is sovereign power or supreme authority. Force is the actual effective exercise of power. Strength is the quality that makes possible the endurance of strain or attack. Might is great or overwhelming power.

Many people do not have any power to cause others to do something. However, nearly everyone has one form of power that they can use: the power of influence. Influence comes in different ways. For example, you might defer to someone of higher social rank, or to someone with legal authority. You might respect someone who has more knowledge on a subject than you do—an expert. You might obey someone in order to receive a reward or to avoid a penalty.

In a decentralized swarm, influence is the chief way that a swarm is moved in a specific direction. Influence comes from your strength (personal ability to act), credibility (record for acting, reflected by other’s trust in you), and wisdom (ability to use knowledge competently).

If trust is the currency of relationships, then a person’s reputation is the measure of their value. Reputation can be built by anyone through swarm-building actions over time. This is why every swarm needs transparency and some way of objectively measuring or logging the actions of its members. Basically a swarm must devise a way to tell people who has proven themselves—to make references—as well as to allow newcomers to prove themselves.

This is not to say that swarms begin with suspicions. Most begin by trusting newcomers—and grow to trust members more over time as they demonstrate themselves. (Also examine Tool 10: Transparency).

It isn’t about knowing, but about continuous learning; not about hierarchy, but about relationships; not about seeking stability, but about encouraging dynamic interplay; not about being self-contained, but about being connected; not about singular solutions, but about multiple opportunities; not about control, but about positioning for innovation and creativity; not about competition, but about collaboration; not about the parts, but about the ‘multiple wholes’ that can be made by continuous integration and disintegration.
Dr. Rick Foster, Vice President
W.K. Kellogg Foundation

Strong men do not need power. The weak are destroyed by it.
Richard Stiller, in “Influence as Power”

Case studies

• Toyota enables its workers to make suggestions, and implements 100% of the suggestions. If a suggestion proves bad, workers simply “suggest” to reverse the idea. Toyota receives (and implements) over 1 million suggestions each year.

Additional Readings
Brafman, O., & Beckstrom, R. A. (2006). The starfish and the spider: the unstoppable power of leaderless organizations. New York: Portfolio. “The hidden power of the catalyst,” p. 107-132.

Journal it: how can you…
• encourage the sharing of opportunities (to keep the promise) and threats (that might stop it from keeping the promise)?
• enable swarm members to suggest courses of action and to critique suggestions?
• quantify the history of people’s contribution to the promise and thus identify people who make a positive impact?
• begin making decisions through consensus and collaboration (not the same as majority rule)?

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© 2008 Momentum Magazine.
Related: The Mission Manual · Justin Long's Annotated Links and Notes