Drucker was right to point out that we cannot fully systematize the specialized efforts of knowledge workers, but we shouldn’t apply this to the workflows that surround these efforts. A manager can’t tell a copywriter how to come up with a brilliant ad, but she can have something to say about how these commissions are assigned, or about what other obligations are allowed onto the copywriter’s plate, or about how client requests are handled. This goal of putting into place smarter workflows that sidestep the worst impacts of the hyperactive hive mind is of course a substantial endeavor—one that
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