Matt Amdur

But I'm not going to tell you which 15%. That's right. I will save that for a future email. Were you at Sun when McNeely did his Rule of 11?

But I'm not going to tell you which 15%. That's right. I will save that for a future email. Were you at Sun when McNeely did his Rule of 11?

Yeah. So he decided that, I mean, again, this is like in an active founder mode, had realized that there were a lot, there were, and this was definitely true of the company where you'd have, you know, and this is true whenever you get,

Yeah. So he decided that, I mean, again, this is like in an active founder mode, had realized that there were a lot, there were, and this was definitely true of the company where you'd have, you know, and this is true whenever you get,

You know, blossoming middle management, and then you get some reorgs, and then you end up with like, oh, wait a minute, this VP has got two directors reporting to them. Each director has got three managers reporting to them. Each of the managers only has one individual contributor. Like this is an entire organization with like 20 people.

You know, blossoming middle management, and then you get some reorgs, and then you end up with like, oh, wait a minute, this VP has got two directors reporting to them. Each director has got three managers reporting to them. Each of the managers only has one individual contributor. Like this is an entire organization with like 20 people.

With one person doing the work. And so McNeely instituted this rule, the rule of 11, that everybody had to have 11 reports. And I remember it was like, you know, you're an engineer. You're like, all right. So I'm like, yeah, for sure. Like, yeah.

With one person doing the work. And so McNeely instituted this rule, the rule of 11, that everybody had to have 11 reports. And I remember it was like, you know, you're an engineer. You're like, all right. So I'm like, yeah, for sure. Like, yeah.

yeah let's go take a machete to some of the the middle management undergrowth and yeah that makes sense it was never enforced and mcneely to his credit enforced it for himself but then didn't actually put the and then his you know the folks that worked for him didn't do it it just it just wasn't done and there were no so we ended up with the rule of 11 was not enforced but what you're describing is also a sun pathology which is like oh for sure very little was enforced right like uh

yeah let's go take a machete to some of the the middle management undergrowth and yeah that makes sense it was never enforced and mcneely to his credit enforced it for himself but then didn't actually put the and then his you know the folks that worked for him didn't do it it just it just wasn't done and there were no so we ended up with the rule of 11 was not enforced but what you're describing is also a sun pathology which is like oh for sure very little was enforced right like uh

Yes, organizational mechanics, not strength. Absolutely not strength. And you had this kind of middle management class that was kind of looking after itself. So we have this sentence that has this duality to it. I mean, the next sentence maybe clarifies it a little bit. Having fewer managers remove layers and flatten organizations more than they are today

Yes, organizational mechanics, not strength. Absolutely not strength. And you had this kind of middle management class that was kind of looking after itself. So we have this sentence that has this duality to it. I mean, the next sentence maybe clarifies it a little bit. Having fewer managers remove layers and flatten organizations more than they are today

If we do this work well, it will increase our teammates' ability to move fast, clarify, and invigorate their sense of ownership, drive decision-making closer to the front lines where it most impacts customers and the business, decrease bureaucracy, and strengthen our organization's ability to make customer lives better and easier every day. It's like, how about that sentence?

If we do this work well, it will increase our teammates' ability to move fast, clarify, and invigorate their sense of ownership, drive decision-making closer to the front lines where it most impacts customers and the business, decrease bureaucracy, and strengthen our organization's ability to make customer lives better and easier every day. It's like, how about that sentence?

I have 15% fewer words in it, pal. It's a bit of a monster. we will do this thoughtfully and our PXT team will work closely with our leaders to evolve our organizations to accomplish these goals in the next few months. It's like, okay. I happen to be able to ask, how do I get on our PXT team? Oh, I've listened. If I told you that, then what would be the point of the PXT team?

I have 15% fewer words in it, pal. It's a bit of a monster. we will do this thoughtfully and our PXT team will work closely with our leaders to evolve our organizations to accomplish these goals in the next few months. It's like, okay. I happen to be able to ask, how do I get on our PXT team? Oh, I've listened. If I told you that, then what would be the point of the PXT team?

If everyone could figure out how to get on the PXT team. Yeah, I've got no idea. Yeah, exactly. The PXT team is... Clearly, you've now... Any manager has now stopped reading the rest of this email and is now jockeying for the PXT team. That's right. Who do I know on the PXT team? What favors do they owe me? What favors do they owe me?

If everyone could figure out how to get on the PXT team. Yeah, I've got no idea. Yeah, exactly. The PXT team is... Clearly, you've now... Any manager has now stopped reading the rest of this email and is now jockeying for the PXT team. That's right. Who do I know on the PXT team? What favors do they owe me? What favors do they owe me?

By the way, parenthetical, by the way, I've created a bureaucracy mailbox for any examples any of you see where we might have bureaucracy or unnecessary process that's crept in and we can root out. To be clear, companies need process to run effectively, and process does not equal bureaucracy, but unnecessary and excessive process or rules should be called out and extinguished.

By the way, parenthetical, by the way, I've created a bureaucracy mailbox for any examples any of you see where we might have bureaucracy or unnecessary process that's crept in and we can root out. To be clear, companies need process to run effectively, and process does not equal bureaucracy, but unnecessary and excessive process or rules should be called out and extinguished.