Adhocracy: The Power to Change

by Robert H. Waterman Jr.

Argues that "adhocracy"--an environment that fosters the effective use of ad hoc problem-solving work groups, is what is needed in today's businesses

Genres: Management, Business

128 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1990

About the author

A non-fiction author and expert on business management practices. He is best known as the co-author, with Tom Peters, of In Search of Excellence

Reviews

[Stephen · Rating 5 out of 5]

READ NOV 2012

Too many organizations "view the outcome of [their] work as recommendations, not results" (p. 79). Waterman suggests a results orientation is the solution for "first-rate people. excellent analysis. solid recommendations. [and] token implementation" (p. 81). While it may be tempting to view adhocracy as the antithesis to bureaucracy, Waterman encourages that these remain in healthy tension within organizations.

Best quote, "a manager who can launch a task force, keep it on track, and get results without uprooting sound bureaucratic infrastructure--that is a manager with a bright future" (p. 16).

[Rick · Rating 1 out of 5]

There's a reason this is out of print. But hey, it takes an hour to read, and read as a historical document it isn't terrible. If you ever wondered where task forces and kickoff meetings and phased consulting deliverables and discovery phases and whatnot came from, here you go. A culmination of a bunch of 80's management zeitgeist mixed with a smidge of Max Weber and Alvin Toffler (but not near enough). Long on examples from companies, some of whom are no longer existent. It's hard to imagine what this was received like at the time, but basically everyone these days knows all of this.