In the 80s and later in the 90s, we had a stupid organization model, called a matrix. The idea behind this is that everyone should have two managers (excepting the top executives themselves, of course), and that they should cooperate and coordinate with the best interest of the company foremost in their minds. This is of course bullshit, as any person who have met a bunch of ambitious mid-managers or defensive, semi-competent, moronic mid-managers, that will do anything to survive, can testify to. People work for their self-interest first and the company second, and if you don't understand that, you shouldn't be in management. Fortunately, the survivorship of the CEOs that tried to implement these abonominations was on average 30 months, even though it usually was painful months.

Why am I writing this? A CEO I know has now in the 00s, decided to implement a matrix organization (it seems), as a new and improved organization form that will ensure that the company streamline its operations. I find it interesting that stupid ideas repeat themselves, and that education in management seems to avoid getting lessons-learned to its students. Heck, just look at ABB and its approx. 600 different accounting systems that was one of the results of the matrix organization they tried to implement (stupidity in spades). Of course, most CEOs in Sweden isn't management trained, but engineers or accountants, which can explain the state-of-the-art.