4 ms·

I agree, fire the CEO. But I have a slightly different take that doesn't involve AI. What if we indeed get rid of the entire C-suite? Even better still: why ar

I agree, fire the CEO. But I have a slightly different take that doesn't involve AI. What if we indeed get rid of the entire C-suite? Even better still: why are companies and orgs hierarchical? Why is there always a - for lack of a better word - dictator in charge? AI CEO is still an AI dictator. We are permitted to vote, but democracy in everyday life, that's a bridge too far, chaos, riots in the streets, cats and dogs living together. Maybe there are too many 'temporary embarrassed billionaires' here on HN, but you have more in common with the average bum in the street than any of 'that' class. It's time that we as a people extend democracy towards the workplace and operate like a cooperation, working on the base of consensus. This is not a new idea, but it won't give you a chance to become a billionaire, and that's exactly the point.

cmeacham98 8mo ago
What you're describing is called a "worker cooperative" and they are somewhat rare but do exist already in real life.
- homarp 8mo ago
  eg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragon_Corporation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragon_Corporation (discussed on HN https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22287794 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22287794 and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22287794 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22287794) or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igalia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igalia (can't find any discussion related to their coop model - there is https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37799973 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37799973 without any comment )
- hellcow 8mo ago
  Are they rare? Aren’t credit unions worker cooperatives? Insurance is often structured this way, and I’ve heard of farmer collectives too. I have a worker cooperative grocery store nearby. I do photography as a hobby and there’s all kinds of photography cooperatives, including Magnum which is incredibly famous in that world. I’m in an HOA which is another cooperative. This doesn’t seem rare to me.
  - hahn-kev 8mo ago
    I think credit unions are often owned by the customers or members. Not the employees.
  - OkayPhysicist 8mo ago
    Most "co-ops" are customer co-ops (Credit Unions, for example, are owned by their members, most grocery co-ops are membership programs, REI is/was the same). Farmer co-ops are owned by a collection of farmers, to pool resources for selling to consumers, but most employees aren't co-owners. Worker's co-ops are rarer, but you find them in the taxi industry pretty often, and in home care.
    - hellcow 8mo ago
      Today I learned. Thank you!
- shimman 8mo ago
  No, what they are describing is workplace democracy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace_democracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace_democracy
bshepard 8mo ago
It would be worth thinking harder before moralizing.
jimbokun 8mo ago
In the US democracy we still have a strong central executive with a lot of decision making power. Parliamentary systems do not always have a President per se, but generally have a similar role of an individual who can quickly make decisions in emergencies and crises. So in practice I’m not sure democracies are all that different in practice.
- louwrentius 8mo ago
  I think current democracies could also shed the notion that there must be an elected “dictator”, making decisions in crises should also be made with cooperation, especially then.
boringops-dan 8mo ago
There's really quite a lack of innovation in corporate structures. I (still) believe that we're going to see a rejection of this MBA-short-term-fuck-the-long-term thinking, and next-gen companies will form treat their employees like the adults they are. That employee goodwill and motivation will make them outpeform the current system. Thnk of the opposite of work-to-rule or 'quiet quitting': An actual motivated workforce.
- louwrentius 8mo ago
  I agree, but I don’t care about performance, just that we do and build things we need and nothing more. We don’t need to stripmine the entire world for profit.

cmeacham98 8mo ago

What you're describing is called a "worker cooperative" and they are somewhat rare but do exist already in real life.

homarp 8mo ago
eg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragon_Corporation https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mondragon_Corporation (discussed on HN https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22287794 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22287794 and https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22287794 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22287794) or https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igalia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Igalia (can't find any discussion related to their coop model - there is https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37799973 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=37799973 without any comment )
hellcow 8mo ago
Are they rare? Aren’t credit unions worker cooperatives? Insurance is often structured this way, and I’ve heard of farmer collectives too. I have a worker cooperative grocery store nearby. I do photography as a hobby and there’s all kinds of photography cooperatives, including Magnum which is incredibly famous in that world. I’m in an HOA which is another cooperative. This doesn’t seem rare to me.
- hahn-kev 8mo ago
  I think credit unions are often owned by the customers or members. Not the employees.
- OkayPhysicist 8mo ago
  Most "co-ops" are customer co-ops (Credit Unions, for example, are owned by their members, most grocery co-ops are membership programs, REI is/was the same). Farmer co-ops are owned by a collection of farmers, to pool resources for selling to consumers, but most employees aren't co-owners. Worker's co-ops are rarer, but you find them in the taxi industry pretty often, and in home care.
  - hellcow 8mo ago
    Today I learned. Thank you!
shimman 8mo ago
No, what they are describing is workplace democracy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace_democracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace_democracy

bshepard 8mo ago

It would be worth thinking harder before moralizing.

jimbokun 8mo ago

In the US democracy we still have a strong central executive with a lot of decision making power. Parliamentary systems do not always have a President per se, but generally have a similar role of an individual who can quickly make decisions in emergencies and crises. So in practice I’m not sure democracies are all that different in practice.

louwrentius 8mo ago
I think current democracies could also shed the notion that there must be an elected “dictator”, making decisions in crises should also be made with cooperation, especially then.

boringops-dan 8mo ago

There's really quite a lack of innovation in corporate structures. I (still) believe that we're going to see a rejection of this MBA-short-term-fuck-the-long-term thinking, and next-gen companies will form treat their employees like the adults they are. That employee goodwill and motivation will make them outpeform the current system. Thnk of the opposite of work-to-rule or 'quiet quitting': An actual motivated workforce.

louwrentius 8mo ago
I agree, but I don’t care about performance, just that we do and build things we need and nothing more. We don’t need to stripmine the entire world for profit.