S5 E17: Strengths of Running a Collective Intelligence Workshop with Rod Collins

“In rapidly changing times, dexterity to speed is your key to adaptability.” Rod Collins

In today’s episode, we are joined by Rod Collins, a returning guest. Rod’s initial episode was released on February 14th, 2022. The topic of conversation was ‘The Benefits of Flat Organizational Structures.’ Today, our discussion focuses on the strengths of running a collective intelligence workshop when you’re trying to solve problems or coming up with new ideas. If you have not listened to the earlier recording, I highly suggest giving it a listen and then following up with this episode.

Rod is a leading expert on digital transformation in the future of business. He is the host of The Thinking Differently podcast on the C-suite Radio Network, where he explores how technological innovations continue to transform the rules of how successful businesses. Rod is a regular blog contributor on Substack and the author of Wiki Management, a revolutionary new model for a rapidly changing and collaborative world, highlighting the innovative tools and practices used by a new breed of business leaders to sustain extraordinary performance in a world reshaped by digital disruption. Rod is the former chief operating executive of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Federal Employee program, one of the nation’s largest and most successful business alliances. Under his leadership, the business experienced the most significant five-year growth period in its 60-year history.

A collective intelligence workshop gets a microcosm of the business in the room. Everybody who would touch on the business’s project, process, and initiative must be in the meeting room. We come up with a way to develop good ideas where we put them into groups to discuss their ideas. At the end of the sessions, each table reports the vision they have settled on. As a decision-maker in a rapidly changing world, you want the best picture, which helps move things along.

After identifying the ideas, we open them up to agreements and disagreements because we want creative energy. The members are also allowed to present their grievances to uncover unknowns that always mess up projects. By having the whole system in the room, things get to be handled in real-time and rapidly, and it helps to drive unanimous consensus.

In rapidly changing times, dexterity to speed is your key to adaptability. My experience is that collective intelligence is more significant than one person providing answers, and frequently this is the power of a network. 

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S5E7: The Benefits to Flat Organizational Structure with Rod Collins

“If you are leveraging collective intelligence, respecting diversity, and inviting dissenting ideas, you are going to uncover the unknown unknowns more quickly and likely come up with better results.” Rod Collins

My guest today is Rod Collins. Rod is a leading expert on digital transformation and the future of business. He’s the host of the Thinking Differently podcast on the C suite Radio Network, where he explores how technological innovations continue to transform the rules of how successful businesses work. In addition, Rod is a regular blog contributor on Substack and the author of Wiki Management, a revolutionary new model for a rapidly changing and collaborative world, highlighting the innovative tools and practices used by a new breed of business leaders to sustain extraordinary performance in a world reshaped by digital disruption.

Rod is a former Chief Operating Executive of the Blue Cross Blue Shield federal employee program, one of the nation’s largest and most successful business alliances. Under his leadership, the business experienced the most significant five-year growth period in a 60-year history.

Today, our conversation centers around the concept of self-managed distributed network corporate structures versus the traditional hierarchy of power and control corporate structure.

There are two fundamental ways that organizations can be set up. For the last 150 years, most organizations have followed one model: the centralized, top-down Command and Control hierarchy. The self-managed distributed network is the second model practiced by a smaller number of companies that are more adaptive to change.

The form of power that works in the hierarchy is coercive power. In networks, their design principle is nobody smarter than everybody, and so they leverage collective intelligence, and the way things get done is through collective power.

One difference between a self-managed network and a top-down hierarchy is that the individual unit of work is the particular person in order. In contrast, in networks, the unit of work is the team. 

The networks are more likely to grow in rapidly changing times because networks can adapt better. In hierarchies, the basis for strategy is central planning, and once those plans are formulated, they tend to be fixed and compliance enforced. They approach the process through iterative discovery in the network, which is essential in rapidly changing times.

Regarding leadership, the prototype for the leader in the hierarchy is the individual hero who will come in and save the company. However, in networks, leadership is a team function. The team can maximize its strengths by pulling in the appropriate optimal talent to take the effort forward, which means everyone gets to experience being a leader.

As with all C-Suite leaders, the CEO does not direct the company’s activity, but the role of the CEO is to play facilitative training and maintain the unique culture to make sure that this team-based self-management approach is preserved.

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