Last week we took a deep dive into Entities. We looked at what they mean in the context of Google Search and how shifting to an entity viewpoint can lead to innovation in business strategy, positioning and organizational structure.
This week we will look closer at organizational structure and what entities can bring to the table. We will also give you a peek behind the curtain at what is going at MAQE and how we are moving towards a decentralized organizational structure with our new organizational operating system; mOS.
Let’s dig in!
Entities and Static Job “Roles”
We defined what entities mean in the context of Google Search and SEO last week. But to recap, Google defines an entity as “a thing or concept that is singular, unique, well-defined and distinguishable.”
While the vast majority of job roles are neither singular or unique, they are well-defined and distinguishable. Take the job role of a social media manager for example. There will be unique aspects to that role in various organizations but the core entity of that role is largely transferable from one business to another. The same skill sets, experiences and expectations exist across almost all industry niches and businesses.
A role such as “social media manager” can be viewed as an entity. Which then connects to other entities, such as management, content creation and editorial planning.
When viewed through the prism of entities, a role is a collection of other entities that are co-related. Which then really opens up some questions about what a role actually is. What does a role mean in a business context when we think this way?
This thinking lends itself to decentralized organizational structures where static roles are not as important. In fact they are a barrier that can increase bureaucracy and hinder staff potential.
This is what we are trying to break with MAQE OS (mOS for short). Although the concepts that mOS is inspired by such as Rendanheyi and Holocracy are not new, we believe that we are trying something a bit different here at MAQE.
So here is a sneak peek at mOS, a decentralized organizational structure that unlocks staff potential.
mOS – Personalizing Work, Unleashing Potential
mOS is very obviously inspired by Haier’s Rendanheyi organizational structure. With some added tweaks that we are making that are very much our own.
mOS frees staff from the walled garden of the job role. MAQErs will be free to work across different disciplines and fields to perform their work and they are free to set their own path, within reason. The work of course, still needs to get done! But mOS is an organizational operating system designed to deliver speed and agility at scale, through the free movement of people and ideas.
The practical implication of this is that mOS is a role-based organizational structure made up of nested circles that will make it easy for anyone to see who is doing what, when, and why. But it will also make it easier for people to move around the organization. Unlike a static role, roles in mOS comprise responsibilities assumed by one or more people. One person can also assume many different roles to create a position. A lot of MAQErs will have two or three roles at the same time, some may have more. But that is up to the individual.
This freedom not only allows MAQErs to personalize their work experience at MAQE, taking on roles and responsibilities that interest them, it also allows information to flow more freely. Eliminating silos, gatekeeping and bureaucracy.
This is just one element of what mOS will allow us to do. There are much bigger plans underway…so stay tuned for that!
Decentralized Organizations Are The Way Forward
Haier’s Rendanheyi system inspired mOS. But why make such a big change?
MAQE is changing because decentralized organizations are the future of work. They increase profitability and innovation.
A recent Industry Week article makes the fiscal case for decentralized organizations abundantly clear. Decentralized organizations have higher average revenue growth, higher average EBIT margin growth and higher average market cap growth than non-decentralized organizations. The bottom line is that decentralized organizations are more profitable. But the benefits do not stop there. Decisions in decentralized organizations are quicker and more staff have ownership over what they are producing.
From an entity perspective, the organization can be seen as the “core” entity. While roles in decentralized organizations are composed of multiple co-related entities. This allows the decentralized organization to evolve and adapt to changing customer needs much more quickly. It also keeps staff much more engaged and happy, which for us here at MAQE is the absolute core of what we do.
So while the entity concept from Google Search and SEO is not the future of work in and of itself, the viewpoint and way of thinking it encourages can lead down a very interesting path. Applying this type of “search thinking” in different contexts can allow businesses to innovate, increase profits and make their staff happy.
Talk to MAQE
If you want to find out more about mOS, our plans for the future and how you can start to decentralize your own business, talk to MAQE via [email protected]. We can help you change your organization to make it agile, more profitable and a happier place to work.