The Upside-Down Pyramid

The past few weeks have been packed with Top 10 lists about sports, companies, people, music. You name it...and there's a Top 10 list for it. In a New York Times op-ed piece published this Saturday, Bono of U2 presented a forward-looking Top 10 list: "10 ideas that might make the next 10 years more interesting, healthy or civil." This refreshing Top 10 list doesn't dwell on the past but rather focuses on the future. Of these 10 ideas that will change the world, one in particular caught my attention. Bono calls it "People Power and the Upside-Down Pyramid."

"A lot of us have seen or lived the organizational chart of the last century, in which power and influence (whether possessed by church, state or corporation) are concentrated in the uppermost point of the pyramid and pressure is exerted downward. But in this new century, and especially in some parts of the developing world, the pyramid is being inverted. Much has been written about the profits to be made at the bottom of the pyramid; less has been said about the political power there. Increasingly, the masses are sitting at the top, and their weight, via cellphones, the Web and the civil society and democracy these technologies can promote, is being felt by those who have traditionally held power. Today, the weight bears down harder when the few are corrupt or fail to deliver on the promises that earned them authority in the first place."

I completely agree with Bono. The Internet will provide employees with mechanisms that flatten corporate hierarchies and turn the corporate pyramid upside down. An integral part of TrueInsider's mission is to empower the rank and file to improve their workplace. The current employee feedback system is broken - employers spend money on employee surveys but get little or no feedback because employees fear their comments will not be anonymous. Any Director or VP at a major corporation has participated in these unsuccessful surveys. TrueInsider's solution is to provide a safe space for employees to give feedback and discuss ideas that will improve the workplace. Just as no person is perfect, no company is perfect. Just as individuals have potential to improve, every company can improve.

I envision a corporate world where every employee will have a voice. Most employees don't want to leave their company, they just want the ability to make it better. By harnessing the Web's collaborative nature, TrueInsider will enable employees to initiate real change to company culture and policies. I don't know when it will happen, I just know that it will happen.

Happy New Year!