day 1079: Organization Charts

"His army was enrolled according to ancestral clans. From Judah there were 300,000 troops organized in units of 1,000, under the command of Adnah."

Organization charts are as old as time. From the beginning we have had armies and the breakdown of the troops into smaller, more manageable units constitutes an organization and thus a way to see this breakdown visibly is an organization chart.  Lots of books have been written on how to organize and the newest to break the scene is "The Org: The Underlying Logic of the Office" by Ray Fisman and Tim Sullivan.  What the authors do is not only tell us about how companies can organize but also how we can provide greater productivity and efficiency through how we define work, incentives and output. They also posit that at the end of the day that how most companies have organized is pretty good and that with all of the fancy and innovative organization schemes that there is room for improvement, but we can still find that the traditional also works. The need for Managers still exist and the need for someone to define and hold accountable an outcome is still in fashion.

Even Jesus showed us a way to organize around His 12 disciples.  Much more than 12 (which I will explore again soon) and there comes a need for someone in between.  What I find fascinating and reassuring in Christ is that He never needed to put someone between Him and us.  Some religions do that, but as we read in God's Word, He is the way, the truth and the life and we are all to be organized around Him, directly to Him. So, as we think today about how we organize our work and our lives, let's be sure and keep Him at the top of the organization chart!

Reference: 2 Chronicles 17:14 (New Living Translation)