I love Kottke's blog; which prompted me to post another series of quotes on middle management from one of his previous posts.
"Working small with the resources of a bigger firm, that's the common thread here.
"The company (Pentagram) is composed of several loosely connected teams that operate more or less autonomously while sharing some necessary services."
"The management system here (Grey's Dog Coffee in NY) is that everybody manages. In order to work here you have two tries to show you can manage the place and if you can't, you're fired. Everybody manages about one shift a week and everybody's equal. People work hard for each other."
"Our (Adaptive Path) current structure has two levels... Executive management, and everyone else. That "everyone else" doesn't report to the executive management. Instead, the report to one another through the advocate system."
Middle management seems to thrive in effectiveness and public opinion when the status quo is desirable and change is unneccesary. Within Campus Crusade, it seems we are in a transition between a maintenance of the status quo and innovating in light of the future.
Looking for an interesting read? Make It Bigger addresses some of these themes. I'm buying it so if you want to save your money and wait for the review you can.