If you read the book mentioned in the article it is not quite so brainwashy. I expect it doesn't make sense for a majority of workplaces as is, but it didn't so

If you read the book mentioned in the article it is not quite so brainwashy. I expect it doesn't make sense for a majority of workplaces as is, but it didn't sound like teal workplaces where bad places to work. In fact, it sounded like the sort of place I would love to work, but at the same time I knew that the majority of my coworkers would not fit in. The basic tenet as I understood it is that you can replace the structure of management with a structure of decision-making processes where decisions are taken at the lowest possible rung (where lowest means as close as possible to the work the decision impacts). It's not democracy, but it is self organized. It's a book worth reading if you want to reset your expectations on what corporate hierarchy must look like. From the article I didn't get the sense zappos is doing it right though. People aren't supposed to be afraid to speak up.