Joel S. Marcus on Taking the Ego Out of Leading
I’ve always felt it’s good to keep a flat, decentralized and cross-matrix reporting organization. We don’t have an organizational chart; I actually ban org charts from being done because I don’t believe in them.
I’m a big fan of Eric Schmidt and the book he co-wrote, “How Google Works,” where he says you should hire smart, creative people and then not put them in boxes. Give them a lot of authority to do some great things and you’re going to have great results. I don’t like hierarchical reporting structures.
.. I learned early on not to take hard and fast positions. If somebody says they want to do something, I don’t normally say no. Instead, I’ll say, “Well, tell me why.” I may decide I’m against it, but I’m open to hearing you debate it.
I never try to be dogmatic with a no answer. I always try to let the person win the day, and I’m egoless when making decisions. I never think, “Oh, I need to make that decision and I know I’m right.” That was hard to learn for a while, but I’ve learned that lesson.
I also always try to get people to have multiple solutions for a problem. I never want to be put into a corner or forced down one road. There ought to be alternative options that can be successful for us, and the key is to have strategic optionality.