Wired's 'cellular' organizational structure has allowed the firm to grow and expand quickly. Adaptability is a competitive necessity considering the speed of the technology evolution that Wired covers. In Wired's Operating Heuristics, Principle Seven states, "Stay lean and mean." The goal is for each 'cell' to stay between 50 and 75 employees, allowing everyone to know each other's names and to communicate directly.
In April, 1994, Wired began planning to move to a new space and to
spin off HotWired into its own 'cell'. This was the first
time that Wired was actually able
to test its organizational theory. As Catherine Hüchting, Director of
Circulation, says,
"A classic example of this was when we were in our old building. I had five people and we were a lot closer. We were on top of each other. Thinking of a butterfly, we were in our larva stage and in the cocoon. Now, I have eleven, but with more space to open our wings. We try to retain that earlier intimancy by having a flat organizational structure. We also have weekly departmental meetings so that we are constantly communicating we each other. Also, I'm not some way off, unavailable person to the staff. As we grow, it will be harder to maintain that level of intimacy. Staying flat is key, because I think that builds the team spirit."
Staying flat is already becoming difficult due to Wired's huge growth. If expansion of the magazine's circulation continues, as Catherine confidently expects it too, then she will need to hire about 5 new employees within the next year and raise one current employee to a team manager under Kristy O'Rell, the Customer Service Manager.
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Wired's managers are wrestling with key structural issues brought on by the very
success
of Wired. For some, the increased complexity of running a
growing magazine will continue to force hierachial layers into the organization
and into the individual departments like Circulation. Is the solution to
create a Circulation 'cell' and spin it off as its own unit? Is Wired's
success
dependant on its adaptive 'cellular' structure? Or is the flat, 'cellular'
structure a make-shift organization that will be unable to sustain continued
complexity and growth?
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PEOPLE | HEART | CULTURE | BUSINESS |