Austin’s Adhocracies:

Three Studies in Loosely Organized

WorkClay Spinuzzi

University of Texas at Austin@spinuzzi

About Me...

1980

“man will find himself [sic] liberated, a stranger in a new free-form world of kinetic

organizations. In this alien landscape, his position will be constantly changing, fluid, and varied. And his organizational ties, like his ties

with things, places, and people, will turn over at a frenetic and ever-accelerating pace.”

“managers are losing their monopoly on decision-making”

Adhocracies

1970, p.125, 140

Improving Adhocracies

Drucker 1993, p.40

“from now on, what matters is the productivity of non-manual workers. And that requires

applying knowledge to knowledge.” (Drucker 1993, p.40)

“Knowledge is becoming the defining characteristic of economic activities” (Burton-

Jones 2001, p.4)

A third space

businessBUSINESS

“the new production system relies on a combination of strategic alliances and ad hoc cooperation projects between corporations,

decentralized units of each major corporation, and networks of small and medium enterprises connecting among themselves and/or with large

corporations or networks of corporations.”

Castells 2000, p.96

From 2002-2008, Nonemployer

Firms...•... increased in #: 21% in the US, 41% in

Austin-Round Rock

•... grew in # in Information sector: 32% in US, 64% in Austin-Round Rock

•... grew in receipts in Information sector: 46% in US, 105% in Austin-Round Rock

•... outpaced population change: 5.8% in US, 22.2% in Austin-Round Rock

businessBUSINESS

Three examples from Austin:

•Lone Wolves: How Adhocracies Work Inside Organizations

•Nonemployee Firms: How Adhocracies Work Outside Organizations

•Coworking: How Adhocracies Form Between Organizations

Lone Wolves: How Adhocracies

Work Inside Organizations

Search Engine Optimization

“Search engine optimization (SEO) is the process of improving the volume or quality of traffic to a web site or a web page (such as a blog) from search engines via ‘natural’ or un-

paid (‘organic’ or ‘algorithmic’) search results ...”

Wikipedia, “search engine optimization”

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2009/08/hidden-gay-slur-search-terms-get-campaign-site-blacklisted.ars

Projects at SemoptcoLaunch: Kick off campaign, examine needs,

formulate keywords and goals, plan goals.•Account manager and 1-2 specialists•Small set of standard milestones•About 4 weeks

Maintenance: Analysis, reporting, meeting, link building.•Primarily a specialist; “lone wolf”•Weekly, monthly, sometimes yearly cycles•Periodic coordination with account manager•No milestones - but long-term performance goals and constant problem-solving

Flexibility through Constant

Customization“Innovation is the primordial function” (Castells 2003, p.100)

“The Internet is the essential tool to ensure customization in a context of high-volume production and distribution” (Castells 2003, p.77)

“[Projects are] all very different” (Stacy, Account Manager)

Project teams

Apprenticeship teams

Project teams

Support teams

Project teams

Functional teams

Project teams

Values teams

Project teams

Taco club

Project teams

Aggregate networks

Extending the network

“I’ve got friends in med school.” (Daria, Senior Search Specialist)

Nonemployee Firms:

How Adhocracies Work Outside Organizations

GD1: Sophie, a graphic designer in her mid-thirties working out of her home office.•Quit job at large publisher when her son was an infant.•Specializes in print publications. GD2: Bob and Tom, two graphic designers in their early thirties, initially working out of Bob's condo.•Met at design firm.•Specialize in identity systems. Both must assemble flexible, recombinant federations of subcontractors for every project rather than relying on stable teams.

Two Graphic Design Firms...

Adhocraciesn

Why start their own business?

Autonomy“I don’t want a client on our roster where I couldn't go to a meeting in jeans.” - Tom

“But Tom and I just need to decide, do we want to grow a business or do we just

want to design? Cause it's like they’re two different things.” - Bob

“[I seek] respectful, productive relationships with clients that value

efficiency and professionalism the way that I do.” - Sophie

Assembling Adhocracies

They developed networks of contacts through previous work with larger organizations.

They established starter networks of contacts.

They established trust through experience.

They sought subcontractors who don’t need supervision.

• 

Coworking: How Adhocracies

Form Between Organizations

Coworking

“Coworking is the social gathering of a group of people, who are still working independently, but who share values and who are interested in the

synergy that can happen from working with talented people in the same space.”

Wikipedia, “coworking”

Coworking in Austin

• Brainstorm

•Conjunctured

•Cospace

• (Cowork Austin)

• Link

• Perch

• Soma Vida

• Space12

• [CoCreate]

• [The Business Location]

• [HubAustin]

• [Center61]

Three Types of Coworking Spaces•The Community Workspace (Soma

Vida, Space12)

•The Unoffice (Brainstorm, Cowork Austin, Link, Perch)

•The Federated Workspace (Conjunctured, Cospace, GoLab Austin)

Coworkers had a Different Take

•Emphasized the unoffice model of parallel work: space + social interaction

•But differed in definitions beyond the fact that they worked in the presence of other people.

•Space, expense, socializing, collaboration, heterogeneity and homogeneity, work/home separation.

Who Coworks?•Small business owners (10), often in

nonemployer firms (8)

•Consultants (4)

•Dependent contractor, intern, employee

•12 of the 17 had an Internet or information technology component to their business

Why Do They Cowork?

•At home: distractions, self-motivation issues, isolation.

•At coffee shops: distractions, lack of security, isolation.

Why Do They Cowork?

•Space, design, professionalism

•Flexibility

•Location

•The coworkers

Characteristics of Coworkers?

• Interaction

• Feedback

• Trust

• Learning

• Partnerships

• Encouragement

•Referrals

Coworking is Diversifying

•Key aspects of coworking as a service are provided by those who are buying that service.

•Parallel vs. Cooperative Work

Lessons?

1. Networks

2. Leadership

3. Trust

4. Agility

5. Innovation

6. Integration

What Makes Adhocracies Work?•Networks

•Leadership

•Trust

•Agility

•Innovation

•Integration

Questions?