Management Theory

Just read an interesting article (via vowe.net) by Clay Shirky at corante.com, entitled Wikis, Grafitti, and Process. This quote, about process, struck a chord...

...an organization slowly forms around avoiding the dumbest behaviors of its mediocre employees...

There is an interesting discussion regarding this topic atvowe.net and on the comments page of the article. A few people have been quick to dismiss this article and Clay's reasoning. The thinking is that process is necessary and process does not always arise because someone "fucked up." Both points are correct, but I wouldn't dismiss Clay's logic based on those assumptions. I've seen this scenario with my own eyes, for I have walked in the valley of the shadow of mediocrity. I've seen it taken a step further, where medicocrity invokes process, but process fails, which in turn invokes technology. If leadership and responsibility can't guide an organization, surely zeroes and ones can. I'm not buying it. I've heard the quote, "People are our greatest asset," well they might just be your greatest liability as well.