Messiness as a Virtue - Question 2

I think that Krebs has underlined the value of an individual person in an organization; by that, I mean that his system of finding out and mapping the unofficial communication channels in an organization recognizes the value of each individual.  The example given about "Mary", who had many more spokes coming out of her wheel and hence was much more valuable to the company, and the "jerk" who outranked Mary but had very few spokes coming out of his wheel, tells it all.  In any organization, the individual - their personality, honesty, reliability, ability to communicate - outweighs their position, no matter what powers that position may hold.

This all reminds me of when I worked as a secretary for IBM, twenty years ago.  I got the job through nepotism; my father and uncle both worked there, although they were not my supervisor.  But I kept it - working every summer and every college break - because I could learn quickly, communicate effectively, and was reliable.  I learned a lot about the corporate world at that job.  I learned that high-powered executives might wear nice clothes and have lots of power, but they also might not be able to manage the latest phone technology.  I learned that fast and accurate typing, clear diction and prompt delivery of messages, and a smile, go a long way towards success.  I learned that finding out what kind of drink and doughnut each manager likes for breakfast will increase early morning meeting attendance, without costing the company anything more, since they were already paying for a catering service.  And, my manager pulled me aside one day, and told me that I would look much more professional if I stopped chewing my nails.  I was very grateful for that advice; I was able to quit because of it.

What I learned overall was just what Krebs delineates: some people will always be "out of the loop" because of their management style, personalities, etc.; but others, no matter what their position, will know everything.  I'm not saying that I knew everything, but I was surprised to find out that in my desk there was a key to the lock box where all the keys to the manager's offices were kept.  Every night, each manager carefully locked up his or her office; while my desk was never locked.  Anyone on the night shift could have come in and gotten into any manager's office.  When I pointed that out, they took the key away from me. :)

Yes, I'd certainly be interested in pursuing Kreb's system in information science.  It makes the entire process more efficient if the actual communication lines (Kreb's data) and the organization chart (Macallum's system) line up.  Of course, they'll never line up perfectly, but the better they align, the faster things get done.