Embracing adhocracy

Thanks to a tweet from David Armano, I found myself reading, then re-reading and bookmarking an article written by veteran advertising account executive Mike Carlton. His premise:

“The bureaucratic organizational model thrived during the 20th Century. But is it the right model for advertising agencies in the 21st Century? Could an adhocratic model be better suited for these challenging times?”

When we founded Hello Viking, one of our motivations was a reaction (even a rebellion) against agency structures, systems and process we’d encountered in previous jobs over the past 15+ years. Something in those organizations felt broken, out-of-date, and a shackle on better ideas.

Carlton understands. He describes his large, General Motors-centric (HA!) agency during its heyday:  ”On the surface it all looked great. We were viewed as a very buttoned-up agency. Clients somehow were attracted to that. We were applauded within the industry for ‘doing it right.’ Yet we had some quiet, nagging concerns. Our work was not any better. Or more effective. Our people were not any happier. And we were not as profitable as we had been. Things were OK. But somehow not quite as much fun. Things didn’t feel as right as they used to.”

What to do?

We have the luxury, at our young age, to experiment wildly—to test and verify newer systems for creating, stewarding, and accounting for advertising. So we try. And fail. And succeed. We do it together, quickly, around the table (or around the group chat).

“Instead of having multiple silos arranged by professional disciplines in which client work is passed around sequentially, an adhocratic agency would have fluid, task specific, teams. Task groups that are formed to address individual unique client business problems…

Teams would be formed, disbanded and reformed on a continuing basis. And each team would be constituted by different people who would be selected solely on their ability to contribute to the issue at hand.

Constant change would be an organizational characteristic.”

I love that last sentence. Carlton’s insight speaks to our current culture, our current media outlook and a way of harnessing technology in the face of chaos.

We are absolutely not turning our backs on methodology, accountability, measurement or process. Heavens, no. Instead, we are conforming with the wind and the Google Wave. We are being receptive to new inputs, validating them, and seeking more effective outcomes—without the bias naturally intertwined in aged bureaucracies.

We are not perfect.

We simply are. And with some luck, with unflagging energy, with love, our adhocratic approach will continue to bear fruit and reveal useful stories.