Autonomy, empowerment, decentralization, and entrepreneurship, as generally practiced, are counterproductive to corporate value creation.  This assertion will not be well received in many circles, as our mainstream management models generally elevate and enshrine empowerment and individual initiative.  Yet it would be no surprise to me if this contention were no surprise to many readers of this publication.  Some of the world's best-led and most successful organizations clearly embrace it in practice and in principle.

I came to this conclusion reluctantly, via a series of direct, disconfirming experiences gained while watching great leaders in action.  Twenty years ago, in a conversation about a very bright young GE executive, Jack Welch told me: "He is not a GE guy.  He's too entrepreneurial."  That brief remark spoke volumes, and forced me to revisit my own thinking about management philosophy.  Certainly, entrepreneurial initiative is not desirable in all settings.  We don't want a lot of local innovation in a nuclear power plant, for example.  But I've been forced to reach a broader conclusion, as a number of other great leaders have reinforced the same fundamental theme.  ...

... an excerpt from "Enterprise Leadership" by Bill Davidson, Leader to Leader - Executive Forum, Fall 2003.

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