The Eric Ries Show How to move beyond bureaucracy, not waste talent, and innovate faster | Michele Zanini & Gary Hamel
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Sep 25, 2025 
Gary Hamel, a leading management thinker, and Michele Zanini, co-founder of the Management Lab, dive deep into how to eliminate the shackles of bureaucracy to unleash human potential. They discuss the historical roots of bureaucracy, highlighting its past benefits and current drawbacks. Engagement is alarmingly low, and they propose a shift from compliance to contribution. With principles of ownership and minimal hierarchy, they share practical steps for creating dynamic organizations. Case studies like Buurtzorg illustrate the power of autonomous teams, making a compelling case for change.
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Management Is A Human Technology
- Management is a human invention that multiplied productivity and enabled modern society.
- When a management model reaches its sell-by date, it must be reinvented rather than treated as immutable.
Why Bureaucracy Once Worked
- Bureaucracy solved scale by formalizing roles, hierarchy, and rules in the 19th century.
- Those same features now impose costs that undermine adaptability and human potential.
Hierarchy Made Sense When Information Was Rare
- Centralized hierarchies concentrated information and decision rights when information was scarce.
- Today information is ubiquitous, so concentrating authority at the top cripples adaptability.
