Changing the Way We Work

"If the problem of issuing orders in accordance with a hierarchical formula produces a chain reaction of complications, a general reluctance to issue orders can soon become the favoured position."

"The modern worker needs to be versatile and yet be able to recognize the boundaries of personal work."

"A desirable strategy for setting up work is to focus on the core of what has to be done with the clear understanding that surrounding this core will be other activities that the person in the job will see as worth doing."

"Two people cannot work in the same area without acknowledging each other's existence. Co-existence is best assured within the context of co-working."

"Change can only be communicated by the manager, because the primary relationship is between the manager, who assigns work to others, and the jobholders: the facilitator is merely an enabler."

"Numerical feedback on how time is spent is important for establishing whether the key work is being done or being neglected."

"The only condition where team empowerment stands a fair chance of working and surviving in the long term is where team members are given the same information as is available to managers."

"How the players respond to the variation of values encountered in an increasingly cosmopolitan work system will determine the pattern that shapes the overall culture."