Ep. 35: Self Management

This episode of the Future of Work podcast I had the pleasure to speak with Paul Green, Jr., co-founder of the Self-Management Institute at the Morning Star Company. Morning Star is an agri-business and processing company who is largest processor of tomatoes. Everyone in some way, shape or form has consumed products that have come from Morning Star. What is really fascinating about the Morning Star Company is that there are no managers, and is the reason why I was so interested in speaking with Paul. Paul and I address some of the principles of self-management and how Morning Star came to this process of self-management. Our discussion includes hiring, firing and problem resolution ─ all functions traditionally handled by managers. He also shares insights into something they created called CLOU - Colleague Letters of Understanding, which is essentially an agreement employees make with each other where they agree upon what type of work they will be doing, how they are going to do it, etc. We cover much more, and end with Paul's advice to organizations and employees. This is an absolutely fascinating discussion ─ and one that is very timely given Zappos recent shift to holacracy and the recent discussions on new models and concepts for restructuring. I learned so much speaking with Paul and I think you will as well. Tune in for this fascinating conversation on self-management with Paul Green!

(Music by Ronald Jenkees)