| One of the lessons learned early on in the disaster | | | | first-level subordinates exceeds five. Therefore, if a |
| field office is referred to as "span of control". Span of | | | | CEO must run four divisions of a single company, he |
| control is a two-dimensional concept of personnel and | | | | can do so with four vice-presidents, but when that |
| project management. Span of control dictates both the | | | | number exceeds seven, the company must be in |
| breadth and depth that an individual leader may | | | | some fashion broken up, grouping each of those |
| effectively exert control and leadership. | | | | greater divisions under individual presidents who then |
| Decades of experience have taught us that even the | | | | report to the CEO. Thus the company becomes one |
| most experienced project manager, leader, CEO or | | | | layer deper, but the CEO has only 2 divisions under his |
| company president can only effectively lead a breadth | | | | span of control (each with a president). |
| of three to seven subordinate divisions and ideally the | | | | Similarly, imagine we now have one CEO with two |
| number is five. | | | | presidents, but the organization becomes greater than |
| That same experience has also taught us that a | | | | seven layers deep with the seventh layer being the |
| leader becomes detached if the organization they | | | | customers. The CEO is in danger of losing touch with |
| oversee grows greater than five to seven layers | | | | those customers. In this circumstance, a new division in |
| deep with, again, the ideal number being five for | | | | the company reporting directly to the CEO can be |
| efficacy. | | | | established that provides for information to be |
| But why does this occur? Why should your | | | | disseminated directly by the CEO to customers and |
| organization be no more divisions wide under any one | | | | feedback directly from customers back to CEO. |
| leader than the number of fingers on their hand and no | | | | A fine example of this is seen in Zales Corporation. |
| more layers deep in that organization than the number | | | | Zales Corporation operates multiple divisions under |
| of toes on one foot? | | | | multiple jewelry sales brands. Each of these brands is |
| The answer in part lies in the functioning of the human | | | | grouped according to their market. Thus, they grouped |
| brain. Immediate memory, that portion of the brain | | | | brands with each group led by a senior vice-president. |
| capable of receiving information almost | | | | The corporate president oversees senior |
| instantaneously, less than .037 milliseconds, and | | | | vice-presidents and thus their groups and brands. The |
| maintaining it until it can be written into permanent | | | | problems for Zales Corporation came when in their |
| memory is only seven blocks wide; this is why your | | | | corporate C suite, became embroiled in a personnel |
| telephone number (excluding the area code) is seven | | | | problem. This highly publicized personnel problem |
| digits long. | | | | impeded the ability of the higher echelon of leadership |
| However, just like a telephone number, by grouping | | | | to exert their span of control and required that a lower |
| batches of numbers your brain treats each group of | | | | level of leadership assume a dual role. |
| numbers as one block. The area code becomes one | | | | Dual roles are death! |
| block of information rather than three discreet | | | | Worse, the individuals in duel roles supervised the |
| numbers. The prefix, another group of three numbers, | | | | same people, creating two parallel chains of command. |
| is again considered a single block of digits. Hence a | | | | The company and its employees were literally |
| ten-digit telephone number is now treated by the brain | | | | shackled by conflicting instructions and expectations. In |
| as only six blocks of information--the area code, the | | | | the disaster field office we know that when needs |
| prefix and each of the last four individual digits. Similarly | | | | exceed resources it is a disaster, but when needs |
| your Social Security number is divided into the same | | | | exceed all ability to respond it is a catastrophe. Zales |
| sequence--three-digit prefix, a two-digit place code and | | | | became a wounded dog because management |
| the terminal four digits. | | | | issues (needs) exceeded their ability to respond. |
| Span of control pays attention to this same basic brain | | | | Investors responded to the catastrophe and stock |
| limitation. You can most effectively pay attention to | | | | prices fell. |
| five simultaneous branches within your chain of | | | | Span of control dictates that one person fills one role |
| command without becoming distracted because you | | | | and that even like organizations not be combined, but |
| have two "available" blocks of memory in which to | | | | that if one leader must supervise two separate |
| store "distractions." | | | | divisions or organizations, that that leader do so |
| Depth in any one branch works the same way. When | | | | through a subordinate to whom those organizations |
| you must pay attention to one branch with any degree | | | | individually report. In the disaster field office we call this |
| of specificity, your brain turns your memory "sideways" | | | | "Unity of Command" and it ensures that each individual |
| and looks at the depth in blocks of information. Limiting | | | | in the chain of command knows precisely what |
| depth to 5 layers leaves two "available" blocks for | | | | singular individual to whom they report and from whom |
| "distractions" or to share among the other branches of | | | | they take direct instruction. With this unity of command |
| your organization. | | | | and span of control principles in place, management |
| But how does this impact actual management? | | | | issues cease to be a choke point. |
| Taking these decades of experience from the disaster | | | | Zales ceased to be a wounded dog when they |
| field office and combining them with the | | | | corrected their C suite personnel problems, |
| neurophysiologic knowledge of how the human brain | | | | reestablishing a unity of command and a manageable |
| works, we discovered that in any organization, the | | | | span of control. Investors rewarded them with a |
| organization must be subdivided when the number of | | | | two-fold increase in stock price in two months. |