Founders: #42 One From Many: VISA and the Rise of Chaordic Organization

David Senra David Senra 10/16/18 - Episode Page

What I learned from reading One From Many: VISA and the Rise of Chaordic Organization by Dee Hock 

---

Subscribe to listen to Founders Premium — Subscribers can listen to Ask Me Anything (AMA) episodes and every bonus episode. 

---

Walking away at the pinnacle of success was the hardest thing I have ever done (0:01)

Through the years, I have greatly feared and sought to keep at bay the four beasts that inevitably devour their keeper – Ego, Envy, Avarice, and Ambition. In 1984, I severed all connections with business for a life of isolation and anonymity, convinced I was making a great bargain by trading money for time, position for liberty, and ego for contentment – that the beasts were securely caged. –Dee Hock (4:14)

Visa was little more than a set of unorthodox convictions about organization slowly growing in the mind of a young corporate rebel (9:03)

Dee's first jobs (21:44)

Learning how mechanistic, Industrial Age organizations really function (28:17)

Useful questions to ask in your organization (34:30)

A failure at 36 years old (38:33)

The environment from which Visa emerged (46:41)

Healthy vs Unhealthy Organizations (55:19)

Focus on how your product or company "ought to be" and nothing else. (57:30)

I had held fast to the notion that until someone has repeatedly said "no!" and adamantly refuses another word on the subject, they are in the process of saying "yes" and don't know it yet. –Dee Hock (1:03:55)

His biggest regret: The fight against duality (monopoly) (1:04:35)

How Dee Hock dealt with stress (1:07:00)

His biggest regret: The fight against duality (monopoly) continued (1:09:52)

Dee's surprising conclusion about his work (1:16:50)

“I have listened to every episode released and look forward to every episode that comes out. The only criticism I would have is that after each podcast I usually want to buy the book because I am interested so my poor wallet suffers. ” — Gareth

Be like Gareth. Buy a book: All the books featured on Founders Podcast