[flush]

I think it's both brave and foolish.

Zappos has been very successful and had a clear positive trajectory before holacracy/Teal. Clearly foolish to jeopardize that to such a degree!

At the same time, you may believe that a new system could truly pay off and take you to the Next Level. Maybe there would be a temporary setback, but you have to grit your teeth and believe in your reasoning that it will work out in the end, better than had you kept the status quo.

I can't help but think of Hsieh as a kind of artist. He isn't trying to just make money or "be successful" like most people. He wants to create something new and exceptional. And will reach for it while paying little mind to the risks.

[michaelchisari]

Starting with a single department as a test case, and then moving out from there probably would have been a way to meet foolish and brave inbetween.

[jcoffland]

That's actually exactly what they did. If you read the whole article they started with the HR department.