Robert H. Waterman Jr.

Adhocracy

"It is, make no mistake, the best management answer for our chaotic times." —Tom Peters

Adhocracy: Any form of organization that cuts across normal bureaucratic lines to capture opportunities, solve problems, and get results.

In an era of accelerating change, organizations, and national economies, most likely to succeed are those with the ability to adjust and adapt. Robert H. Waterman Jr., coauthor of the best-selling In Search of Excellence, shows how and what this sort of innovation must become a way of life for business organizations across the board. What is needed is an environment that fosters the use of an ad-hoc problem-solving technique, in effect an "adhocracy" that functions outside the often initiative-stifling bureaucracy.

Drawing on twenty-five years' experience in management consulting, Waterman offers clear instructions on how to establish adhocracy and make it work: creating task forces and independent business units, even two people meeting in a hallway to solve a common problem. A lively and insightful work, this should become an essential handbook for managers at all levels who recognize the need to redefine the rules for success.

"Adhocracy is the single best treatment of innovation and teams that I've read anywhere. It's insightful and filled with practical information." —Charles O'Reilly, University of California, Berkeley