Organizations need to be reconceived as networks.

Can Bigger Be Faster? - Mark Bonchek and Chris Fussell - Harvard Business Review

Organizations need to be reconceived as networks. The events of 9/11 led the U.S. military to realize that "it takes a network to defeat a network". 

Four strategies were at the core of this transformation:

1. Build relationships: Build more relationships and connections. 

2. Establish shared purpose: People need a reason to work together.

3. Create shared consciousness: Ensures that everyone across the network has a sense of where they are and is acting on the best available information.

4. Foster diversity: Conformity creates groupthink, stifling innovation and organizational resilience. The antidote is cultural diversity in all its forms.

Bigger no longer meant slower, and network no longer meant unpredictable.

We need new models to enable us to get bigger and faster. We need our leaders to be more like mayors than generals, building relationships instead of issuing orders.