C-Suite management of the UK’s fasting growing tech companies attended a dinner last night, hearing from Brian Robertson of Holacracy on the disruption of management hierarchy.
A full house of Future Fifty COO’s enjoyed an evening of networking and discussion sponsored by NetSuite, which provides software solutions for many of the programme member companies. Continuing the trend of high-profile guest speakers, Brian Robertson of Holacracy gave an in depth insight into how their management concept works in practice and could potentially propel the Future Fifty digital disrupters.
With a short presentation including examples of both Holacracy in action and the management problems it can help companies overcome, he presented a compelling case before debating the viability of applying the method to Future Fifty members. Accustomed to disrupting industries from fashion to finance, the audience were open to the possibility of the management method aiding their business practices and disrupting internal management hierarchies.
The flagship example of Holacracy in action is Zappos, which has adopted the approach wholeheartedly. Below is a map of how businesses operate historically, something which Holacracy was designed to overcome.
Earlier in the evening, Tech City UK CEO Gerard Grech welcomed the attendees, commenting: “Analysis has shown that your companies are hiring at six times the national average. It’s amazing to now have you all in the same room, discussing your diverse experiences together”. Gerard was reflecting on the huge impact Future Fifty companies have to the UK digital economy since the launch of the programme 18 months ago.
Head of the Future Fifty programme, Philipp Stoeckl, also alluded to the fact that since the last dinner – just a few weeks ago – there has already been three large funding rounds amongst the cohort companies. Busuu, OneFineStay and Made.com have all raised substantial amounts in recent weeks. In addition, this morning Adzuna announced they’ve completed their crowdfunding campaign.
