Functional departments, divisions, sectors: the way companies and organizations are structured is a remnant from a bygone industrial age, where tasks and duties were programmatic and regimented. Despite being highly formulaic, these roles actually created problems within companies: people doing the same tasks sat next to each other, and inevitably, silos were created.
Such organizational complexities and structures made sense in an analogue world. Ours is connected however, and the opportunities are far too great to rely on such inefficient and antiquated methods. Organizations realize this, but haven’t yet found the right balance: while they may act on problems with cross-functional project teams, the individuals and tools remain in the “silo world”.
Flash Organizations are a way of using technology and targeted expertise to find solutions to problems, firmly bringing organizational problem solving into the 21st Century.
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How it works
In the past, if you wanted to hire the leading experts to solve a problem, you would need access to an extraordinary network living in your area. Tech however collapses the obstacles to accessing talent, and also facilitates communication and administration, allowing organizations to find the optimal mix of internal and external talent for a given challenge much quicker than before.
With access to an online labour market, organizations can hire a team of experts from around the world and assign specific roles to solve a single project. Once the project is completed, the team disbands. As Taylor Kubota, for Stanford News writes, “The workforce in Flash Organizations is… assembled on-demand from massive online labor markets, …[and is] composed of experts assembled in an organizational hierarchy.”
The results
In 2017, a research team from Stanford University produced a study which supported the idea that Flash Organizations could be built and deployed to accomplish tasks efficiently. The results showed that not only were they easy to build, they produced more efficient results than traditional work forms, and allowed the teams involved to behave more creatively and responsively to changing circumstances and goals.
The outstanding examples of Flash Organizations are actually all around you. Movies, albums and most major, consumable cultural products have been produced by Flash Organizations. A production company gets a script, hires a director, producer, a team of actors and an entire technical staff. There is a clear goal and hierarchy, with the director delegating tasks and instructing their staff on what to do. Once the movie is made, the team disbands, and everyone goes on to different projects.
Another example is the rescue operation in Thailand in which a youth football team became trapped in a cave. The boys were rescued by an international team assembled in a short period of time by Thai authorities. It included divers, organizers, and health workers from around the world.
The clarity of roles and hierarchy, as well as clear communication made this possible; in fact, all emergency rescue operations are organized in a flash format, since they are formed reactively, with urgent deadlines.
Technology makes this available to every organization. We’re convinced that globally, this will be an opportunity and challenge for every company; only those who can quickly assemble a team of the best experts to tackle important projects will be successful.
