Streamline Training & Documentation: A Company in the Adhocracy Quadrant

Monday, August 13, 2007

A Company in the Adhocracy Quadrant

George Lopez is CEO of ICU Medical, Inc., a company he founded in 1984 that seems to be a good example of an "Adhocracy," as defined in the competing values model of organizational culture outlined in my post from two days ago.

As reported by Erin White in today's Wall Street Journal, Lopez has made a point of promoting flexibility and external orientation at his company, the two characteristics of an adhocracy, i.e., an organization that particularly values creativity and risk-taking.

White explains,

At the San Clemente, Calif., maker of medical devices, any worker [out of total employment of about 1,480] can form a team to tackle any project. Team members set meetings, assign tasks and create deadlines themselves. Chief Executive George Lopez says he's never vetoed a team decision, even when he disagreed with it. These teams have altered production processes and set up a 401(k) plan, among other changes.

What is particularly interesting to me is how well ICU Medical illustrates an important aspect of the competing values model, namely that there is no preordained advantage to creating a pure (= extreme) culture at your organization. While Lopez allows employee teams considerable leeway in managing their activities, there are definite ground rules, including:

Challenge the issue, not the person.

Consider all options.

Stand up for your position, but never argue against the facts.

Allow yourself the opportunity to seriously consider opposing views.

Lose the words "I" and "they" once a decision is reached.

Codifying rules for teams (there is now a 25-page handbook) was part of a change process that moved ICU Medical from an initial free-form approach to teamwork that was a performance flop, to the current approach, in which the company is now a bit closer to the stability end of the flexibility/stability continuum. This seems to be a reflection of George Lopez's competitive personality and of the competitive environment in which the company operates.

The culture ICU Medical has built, including use of employee-initiated and -run project teams, is paying off in terms of such indicators as manufacturing innovation and sales revenue.

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Labels: Organizational culture

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