Clay Spinuzzi is an associate professor of rhetoric at The University of Texas at Austin. He studies how individuals communicate, organize, and innovate in modern-day organizations, characterized by little structure and high levels of computer-mediated communication.
Last year he participated in a SXSWi panel on the topic of co-working. He will return this year to lead a core discussion titled “Hold on Loosely: How Loose Organizations work.” I caught up with him to find out what loose organizations are all about and what we can expect from his discussion this year.
Tell us about the discussion you’ll lead this year CS: It’s a core conversation about how people form loose organizations, broadly speaking. People are finding that digital and mobile technologies can help them to organize more loosely and rapidly, and that means they can keep small and flexible, scale up when necessary, and link up with other loose organizations to swarm big projects, even if they are freelancers working out of their own houses, coffee shops, or coworking spaces.
What are your expectations for this conversation?
CS: Last year at SXSWi, I presented on one example, coworking spaces. And I’ve conducted other case studies of loose organizations in Austin. But in this core conversation, I am really more interested in starting the conversation, then seeing what the attendees have to say about the loose organizations in which they work. These might be virtual organizations, movements, open source projects, coworking spaces, and who knows what else. Rather than trying to overdetermine it, I wanted to throw it out there, see what kinds of responses I get, and compile them on my blog (spinuzzi.blogspot.com).
So, what is a loose organization?
CS: “Loose organization” is sort of a broad heading for a set of actors that have formed relationships or associations, allowing them to accomplish objectives without the strong top-down control of a formal hierarchy. They tend to be agile, project-oriented, innovative, and decentralized, and the individuals within them tend to function with a great deal of operational autonomy and form alliances that support their individual goals. Think in terms of coworking spaces like Austin’s own Conjunctured, where independent freelancers and entrepeneurs have established trust with people they work near. When one freelancer gets a big project, she can draw on those connections to “swarm” the project. The one-person business turns into a 3-, 5-, or 6-person shop for the duration of the project. Other examples might include temporary virtual organizations, open source projects, subcontractor networks, Tea Party chapters, and al Qaeda. These organizations all have somewhat different structures, ideologies, and populations, but they’re all loose organizations.
What does a loose organization look like?
CS: I like to talk about the organizations that form in coworking sites – they tend to be of short duration, they focus on projects, they disperse, and they value innovation and results over obedience and connections. And they tend to be specialists with deep expertise and people skills that let them use that expertise in different contexts. Plus, most of the people I meet at coworking sites turn out to be good folks. But al Qaeda is another model. They have a core ideology, but they are happy to work with freelancers who have competing ideologies as long as they share a tactical objective. Obviously I don’t think that AQ is composed of such good folks, but it’s another strong example of the general model.
What are some of the challenges faced by loose organization?
CS: Loose organizations are networks rather than hierarchies, and they give up some of the strengths of hierarchical structure. For instance, they have a harder time establishing and maintaining a strategic vision or strategic objectives. They don’t have a strong way to enforce discipline across the members – members are there by choice and can simply melt away if they want. And since individuals exercise a lot of autonomy, they have to do more work in terms of establishing and maintaining relationships, establishing trust, and understanding each others’ work. Also, they can’t just blame a manager when things go wrong.
Who should attend your panel at SXSWi?
CS: Mainly, people who work in loose organizations and who want to share stories or figure out the ground rules. As I said, I want to get these people talking about how they work, what motivates them, what causes loose organizations to fail, and how we can support them so that they can succeed. What I’ve outlined above certainly isn’t the last word on loose organizations, so I expect to hear some insights that can only come from people who have walked this road. I also suspect – and hope – that they can push back on some of the points above.
Secondly, people who outside the phenomenon but who are interested in it. Large corporations are currently shedding non-core functions, contracting them out to freelancers and other organizations. For instance, graphic design used to be handled in-house at large firms, but it’s increasingly being contracted out to freelancers and small businesses. So when a corporation contracts out that graphic design work, how can they work best with freelancers? What can they expect from that freelancer as she assembles her subcontractor network to get the job done? How can the corporation select the right contractor, avoid making problems, and facilitate the process?
What are you looking forward to at SXSWi this year?
CS: Oh, everything. You can’t throw a rock at SXSWi without hitting a good panel. More than anything, though, I expect that we’ll see some of these panels scrambling to address rapid, recent changes in the tech sector such as the success of Groupon and Quora.