I have been re-reading "First Man- the life of Neil Armstrong" by James R Hansen.  The book is a gem - it so well researched and so well written.  It reminds me of my time at NASA and the key things I learnt there.

1) too long spent on design leads one to implement a dud and too little time spent on design leads one to implement a white elephant.

2) single points of failure are everywhere in large projects.

3) risk is ever present but usually hits you where you are not.

4) simulation is preparation if and only if you use it to go beyond the limits of your known systems.

5) there is no substitute for experience but experience without imagination is useless in a crisis.

6) fear of failure can not be tolerated.

7) success is filled up with good luck.

Once upon a time I was into "semi-autonomous" work groups.  At my paid work I engineered them and at night (paid work too as it turned out) I lectured to undergraduate and graduate students about them.  These entities fascinated me then and they still do.  In one sense these are the amoeba of organisations - they are single cells that split to form a new whole entity.  So they are the simplest form of human organisation and because they are self-directed they need little management.  Therein lies the paradox of these entities.  They are simple to set up.  They are simple to describe.  They are simple to be a part of.  They are highly productive.  They are purpose built.  They are low maintenance.  They are heuristic and innovative.

So what are they?  Where would I see them working well?

What they are is groups of five or more but not more than eight or nine people.  They have a single purpose which they actively pursue together.  Their process is transparent - everyone knows everything that is going on within the group.  Their process is open to inspection at any time - there is usually a process of show-and-tell which presents progress of individuals and the group as a whole.  Their process is innovative - there is an process of prototyping, testing, breaking, and reframing the prototype until a robust (and scalable) outcome is arrived at.

If you want to read about groups like this that work well - go to the Saddleback Church site.  Pastor Rick Warren has built and organisation that thrives on semi-autonomous work groups.

Learn about them and learn to love them - they are the future of work!