Self-organization does mean anarchy

From the “I don’t think that word means what you think it does” department.

<rant>
Ever so often I hear people argue that self organization does not mean anarchy. (Especially if the team wants to use non-corporate software, hardware, tool, etc.)

To me this seems quite strange because the opposite is clearly true.

Anarchy does mean without (an) rulers (archos) - or so wikipedia and my history books tell me.

Of course Anarchy (with a capital A) has so many connotations nowadays that most of them are not appropriate for self-organizing teams and I would strongly advise all self organizing teams not to take on the negative traits that have nowadays become associated with anarchy.

But stretch the boundaries – if the team is self organized, who is to tell that they have to work from their assigned workstations? Why shouldn't they put graffiti – sorry, architectural diagrams – on the walls?

We all live in a social system where we can only flourish to our fullest potential if we do not harm other people, but we have to question our rules relentlessly.

In my opinion it is a contradictio in adjecto if you tell a team to “... be self organized, but follow corporate policy to the letter ...”.

</rant>

till next time
  Michael Mahlberg