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162 SNAKES IN SUITS
old-style bureaucracies to offer, the transitioning organization—
forced to make changes to its business model, anyway—is in an ideal
position to adopt these new approaches. By replacing the longabandoned
employment-for-life psychological contract with the new
entrepreneurial psychological contract, transitioning organizations
are better able to gain the flexibility needed to survive chaos. This requires
treating employees as individual contributors, responsible for
their own career advancement, and rewarding them with large
salaries for innovative, fast-paced problem solving—as well as the
chance to continue to work on new, exciting projects. The symbiosis
of employees with entrepreneurial talents and the transitioning organization
can lead to the constant reinventing, rebuilding, and reenergizing
that both need for survival and growth. If well managed
(using new management techniques, of course, not old ones), the results
can be impressive.
Unfortunately, this business model is far easier to theorize about
than to actually implement. There are several reasons for this, all of
them very human. First, it is very difficult to convince current executives,
managers, and employees that they should give up their need
for safety and security—no longer part of the contract—in exchange
for a model in which their skills and abilities may not be worth anything
tomorrow, and the company feels no obligation to retain them.
Second, it is difficult to regain employee loyalty, especially once the
organization has breached the employment-for-life psychological
contract and substituted an entrepreneurial psychological contract.
Management credibility, one of the foundations of employee loyalty,
is also open to question—“How come they let the company get into
this situation?” and “Didn’t they see this coming?” are recurring
challenges those in control must constantly face from the workforce
if they expect to attract and retain talented entrepreneurs. Third,
those with power and authority rarely give it up willingly, even in service
of the greater good of the organization. (President George
Washington is one of the few great leaders who rejected “kingship”
and refused to continue as president once he felt his job was done.)
These individuals may feel threatened by the erosion of their own