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Birth of the Chaordic Age: VISA and the Rise of Chaordic Organization
In Birth of the Chaordic Age, Dee Hock argues that traditional organizational forms can no longer work because organizations have become too complex. Hock advocates a new organizational form that he calls ""chaordic, "" or simultaneously chaotic and orderly. He credits the worldwide success of VISA with its chaordic structure -- it is owned by its member banks which both compete with each other for customers and must cooperate by honoring one another's transactions across borders and currencies. The book shows how these same chaordic concepts are now being put into practice in a broad range of business, social, community, and government organizations.
360 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2000
16 people are currently reading
661 people want to read
About the author
Dee Hock
8 books24 followersDee Ward Hock is the founder and former CEO of the Visa credit card association.
More information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dee_Hock
More information: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dee_Hock
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
October 14, 2016
wow! Dee put to words what's been floating in my brain for decades. To boot, he brought his approach to organizing efforts to one of the most significant value exchange networks ever created by man; the VISA network.
an incredible view into what motivates people and what constitutes good in someone. great explanation of how to get the "impossible" accomplished. when I think about things in life that tilt-shifted the world, they're most often rooted in these "chaordic" (merger of "chaos" and "order") concepts, and they never go as planned.
what an awesome story about personal worth, values, technology appropriately applied, work ethic, desire, passion, effort, collaboration, humility, ego, power, abuse, and the complexity of human beings in a business context.
one of the most important books I've ever read.
an incredible view into what motivates people and what constitutes good in someone. great explanation of how to get the "impossible" accomplished. when I think about things in life that tilt-shifted the world, they're most often rooted in these "chaordic" (merger of "chaos" and "order") concepts, and they never go as planned.
what an awesome story about personal worth, values, technology appropriately applied, work ethic, desire, passion, effort, collaboration, humility, ego, power, abuse, and the complexity of human beings in a business context.
one of the most important books I've ever read.
February 21, 2017
The book is more of an autobiography of Dee Hock than the Visa story (although these two interlinked). It is more about why Visa(or payments in general) have evolved the way they have evolved rather than how they have evolved so if you are looking for the how part, this is not the book for you.
The book majorly revolves around self-organising team/organisations and Hock's experiments at Visa. It is worth a read for exploring a very different take on organisational behaviour.
March 6, 2009
I am only a couple chapters in but this book is amazing. It is written by the founder of visa and is extremely in tune with structured organizations as that was a part of his career. He has a keen understanding as to why we have the problems we have and why no one is doing anything helpful about it. Here is a direct quote "The nonmonetary exchange of value is the most effective, constructive system ever devised. Evolution and nature have been perfecting it for thousands of millenia. It requires no currency, contracts, government, laws, courts, police, economists, lawyers, accountants. It does not require anointed or certified experts at all. It requires only ordinary caring people."
People are not intentionally destroying life but through huge organizations that are not in control of themselves or providing the very services for wich they were created. What purpose is being served? That is the question that can save us as a people. Doing work just to do work serves no use but the waste of resources.
People are not intentionally destroying life but through huge organizations that are not in control of themselves or providing the very services for wich they were created. What purpose is being served? That is the question that can save us as a people. Doing work just to do work serves no use but the waste of resources.
February 17, 2026
I would say Dee hock has one of the most unique experiences rising to success that I have ever heard of. The book lover, learning enthusiast and all rounder was no means the type where success begets success. At every step the path forward was never obvious and there were chance times he truly tasted the feelings of true failure. He was a man of convictions and he paid dearly for the things he believed. In particular the belief of how bureaucracy and politics in management are unproductive and how leadership should not be top down, a notion propagated because of the coming of the Industrial age, and rather vision casting. The view that every individual has infinite potential and that the best results come from inner convictions rather than outer pressures. His view of leadership was particularly unforgettable, that leadership is first and foremost the ability to control oneself, how the next priority is to manage the bosses, then the relationships to those on the same level and then and only then to take care of those under you. How an organization is but a group of people coming together firstly for a purpose and how values and principles come out of that singular purpose. It is obvious how certain philosophical notions have influenced him, stoicism, how we are part of the world and it is impossible to fully separate us with the world around us and many other schools of thought. But enough of his opinions, let’s talk more about his accomplishments.
Dee seems to be a man of great competency in a particular environment: In places where rules can be broken, where results are prioritised at all cost and where success is not measured by rigid metrics, a type who is intensely motivated when given work aligning with his goal and utterly bored when it is devoid of purpose. He had many brushes with a particular archetype of a situation. Him and a bunch of young, energetic bunch would start up / take up something in which they had to push their creative muscles and end up succeeding. As the company grew and prospered, so did their proclivity to structured management. Dee would not be able to adapt to this type of environment and due to his unwavering morals refuse to compromise and hence be let off.
His greatest strength was the foresight he had relating to the macro trends of his time. From just the idea of credit cards and emerging tech, he was able to predict how financial systems would be replaced by digital counterparts in the future even when it was not the conventional opinion. His own aversion to pride and prestige meant that he could be blunt about what needed to be done and people knew for a fact that he was a man chasing a better world for everyone and not just himself.
I am not a frequent reader of business biographies mostly because of my biases against them. But it was truly an honour to hear from Dee as he shares an example of how the contemplative, moral driven type can also find their own place in the world.
Dee seems to be a man of great competency in a particular environment: In places where rules can be broken, where results are prioritised at all cost and where success is not measured by rigid metrics, a type who is intensely motivated when given work aligning with his goal and utterly bored when it is devoid of purpose. He had many brushes with a particular archetype of a situation. Him and a bunch of young, energetic bunch would start up / take up something in which they had to push their creative muscles and end up succeeding. As the company grew and prospered, so did their proclivity to structured management. Dee would not be able to adapt to this type of environment and due to his unwavering morals refuse to compromise and hence be let off.
His greatest strength was the foresight he had relating to the macro trends of his time. From just the idea of credit cards and emerging tech, he was able to predict how financial systems would be replaced by digital counterparts in the future even when it was not the conventional opinion. His own aversion to pride and prestige meant that he could be blunt about what needed to be done and people knew for a fact that he was a man chasing a better world for everyone and not just himself.
I am not a frequent reader of business biographies mostly because of my biases against them. But it was truly an honour to hear from Dee as he shares an example of how the contemplative, moral driven type can also find their own place in the world.
March 14, 2020
The balance of chaos and order. Modeling the way nature evolves as innumerable interacting ecosystems beneficially working together. In all other aspects of life there is growth and change, why treat the method of organization for government, education, and industry as a fixated idea that could never be improved on? Simply gathering people with a common interest and goal leads to spontaneous ideas and achievement of solutions deemed impossible, which would be true if following traditional methods. Life ambitions have to be more than just reaching a monetary figure in a bank account to truly reach your highest capabilities though.
May 8, 2025
É um livro instigante. Desde a ideia de conhecer mais de perto uma parte da história de um cara que revolucionou o mundo de uma forma tão impactante, até compreender um pouco mais as possibilidades que ele nos oferta de como cuidar das nossas organizações e instituições - seja da área que for.
Talvez o "Nascimento da Era Caórdica" tenha surgido para mim como mais uma parte das respostas das perguntas que me inqueitam e me movem. Já faz muito tempo que me pergunto sobre o fenômeno humano e as suas consequências. Claro que nossas organizações - políticas, comerciais, militares, religiosas, financeiras etc. - fazem parte diretamente disso.
Recomendo a leitura.
Talvez o "Nascimento da Era Caórdica" tenha surgido para mim como mais uma parte das respostas das perguntas que me inqueitam e me movem. Já faz muito tempo que me pergunto sobre o fenômeno humano e as suas consequências. Claro que nossas organizações - políticas, comerciais, militares, religiosas, financeiras etc. - fazem parte diretamente disso.
Recomendo a leitura.
July 5, 2017
O termo "caórdico", apesar de parecer ter sido inventado pelo Tiririca, carrega um significado valioso, somando os conceitos de caos e ordem para identificar sistemas que conseguem conviver com ambos - e, consequentemente, são mais sustentáveis em um mundo cada vez mais complexo. Há boas ideias no livro, ainda que a narrativa seja um pouco afetada.
April 15, 2019
How Visa was born. A very fun read. It's not out of date even today. So many wisdom nuggets about to our environment and information. Better than 99% of management book today.
January 28, 2017
Grandstanding.
August 18, 2020
Dee Hock is a true visionary for a liveable future. And from such an unexpected industry: credit cards! I admire how he marches to the beat of his own drum. He's a truly inspiring leader. Reading this book is like reading a brilliant philosopher who just happens to be on the finance industry. He taps into the most fundamental questions of life, humanity, community, and leadership.
December 31, 2008
This book is a great read! And it is about the invention of Visa Credit card by Dee Hock. He says, "Although Visa arose from thinking about organizations as living biological systems, I missed completely the need for an institutional immune system to thwart the viruses of old ways."
He is truly brilliant and I loved the drama it unfolded miracle by miracle, as well as his overview of his thinking about organizations. "...Chaordic organization is about releasing what people desire in the depth of their being—the passion they have for it—the integrity they bring to the attempt." He goes on to say, "It's a story of harboring the four beasts that inevitably devour their keeper, ego, envy, avarice, and ambition, and of a great bargain, trading ego for humility, envy for equanimity, avarice for time, and ambition for liberty..."
He also has suggestions for managers that are good:
"1) Manage self—integrity, character, ethics, knowledge, wisdom, temperament, work and acts.
2) Manage those with authority over us—without ther consent and support, how can we follow conviction, exercise judgement, use creative ability, achieve constructive results or create conditions by which others can do the same?
3) Manage one's peers—peers can make a small heaven or hell of our life.
4) Manage those over whom we have authority—select decent people, introduce them to the concept, induce them to practice it, and enjoy the process. Properly recognize, reward, and stay out of their way."
These are great milestones to remember in the work world.
Another neat idea is the new information = Boundary acid. "It dissolves old boundaries and creates the conditions for new patterns of relationships to emerge.
This book reads like a novel and we wind up cheering him on!
He is truly brilliant and I loved the drama it unfolded miracle by miracle, as well as his overview of his thinking about organizations. "...Chaordic organization is about releasing what people desire in the depth of their being—the passion they have for it—the integrity they bring to the attempt." He goes on to say, "It's a story of harboring the four beasts that inevitably devour their keeper, ego, envy, avarice, and ambition, and of a great bargain, trading ego for humility, envy for equanimity, avarice for time, and ambition for liberty..."
He also has suggestions for managers that are good:
"1) Manage self—integrity, character, ethics, knowledge, wisdom, temperament, work and acts.
2) Manage those with authority over us—without ther consent and support, how can we follow conviction, exercise judgement, use creative ability, achieve constructive results or create conditions by which others can do the same?
3) Manage one's peers—peers can make a small heaven or hell of our life.
4) Manage those over whom we have authority—select decent people, introduce them to the concept, induce them to practice it, and enjoy the process. Properly recognize, reward, and stay out of their way."
These are great milestones to remember in the work world.
Another neat idea is the new information = Boundary acid. "It dissolves old boundaries and creates the conditions for new patterns of relationships to emerge.
This book reads like a novel and we wind up cheering him on!
September 15, 2016
Livro fantástico, com várias ideias originais que foram colocadas em prática durante os anos que ele passou na VISA.
O autor descreve com genialidade como são formadas as crenças das pessoas e por que é tão difícil mudá-las.
Ele também faz um decodificação magnífica da forma como a maioria das organizações pensa e funciona e como isso está prejudicando cada uma delas dia após dias, no que chama de "falência institucional". Destaque também para a visão sistêmica/orgânica que o autor tem da natureza, das pessoas e, é claro, das organizações.
As conversas com o "Macaco Velho" são espetaculares. Sempre regadas a muita filosofia e sempre tendo em mente, para cada conceito, as quatro perguntas:
- O que é ?
- O que foi ?
- O que pode se tornar ?
- Como deveria ser ?
O autor descreve com genialidade como são formadas as crenças das pessoas e por que é tão difícil mudá-las.
Ele também faz um decodificação magnífica da forma como a maioria das organizações pensa e funciona e como isso está prejudicando cada uma delas dia após dias, no que chama de "falência institucional". Destaque também para a visão sistêmica/orgânica que o autor tem da natureza, das pessoas e, é claro, das organizações.
As conversas com o "Macaco Velho" são espetaculares. Sempre regadas a muita filosofia e sempre tendo em mente, para cada conceito, as quatro perguntas:
- O que é ?
- O que foi ?
- O que pode se tornar ?
- Como deveria ser ?
June 13, 2009
A brilliant book grounded in practice from the founder of VISA, recounting his story of discovering more natural ways to organize human activity, interlaced with his philosophical pondering on how that might be possible. Right up there with Theory U, Synchronicity, and Presence on my must-read business/leadership books.
April 5, 2011
This gave me insight into a new way of structuring organizations to optimize the talents and knowledge of its members/employees/stakeholders.
The journey is exhilarating to follow.
The only frustration as a practical book is that you cannot easily discern a method or process that you can apply to other organizations/companies.
The journey is exhilarating to follow.
The only frustration as a practical book is that you cannot easily discern a method or process that you can apply to other organizations/companies.
July 10, 2008
No other person can claim to be the founding CEO of a trillion+ company. Dee Hock explains the border between order and chaos and how searching for principles from that intersection led him to define VISA and the modern credit card.
February 8, 2009
Part spiritual memoire, part management manual, part cookbook for the application of chaos theory in creating effective organizations. Dee Hock is the real deal. He led VISA in pioneering a new model for organizing and growing organizations.
April 30, 2010
I liked that Dee Hocks wrote on several different tracks/levels and the one I enjoyed the most was actually his personal story. I'm generally not into business topics for recreational reading but the story of how VISA came to be was fascinating.
April 25, 2014
Memoir and reflection on organizational life from the founder of Visa International. His views on organizational life were and still are ahead of their time. His views on money were and still are ahead of their time. Interesting insight into organizational performance and motivation.
June 11, 2010
This book is similar to Dee Hock's other book "One from Many". If you are interested in understanding how we ought to be, then either of these books is a good read.
April 10, 2013
One of the best books on the future of companies out there. An amazing read that will make your mind bubble up new thoughts by the minute. Greatly recommented.
October 12, 2013
great concept which is corresponding to what we now label 'social business' ! must read for anyone trying to figure out how to organise their 'community'
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews