Where did they come from and where are they going?
A question I get asked a lot is “where did the org chart come from?” Well, the first Web-based org charts came from Nakisa.
…But I think they meant the paper-based kind.
Actually, I recently came across an article touching on this. The author dates the formal “invention” of org charts to the 19th century, when they were developed to help “trains run on time.”
Although the article has a certain level of charm to it, my thoughts focused on how org charts will evolve into the future. The first org charts arose from the need to easily understand and communicate interrelated information – organizational clarity if you will. By visualizing relationships and hierarchies, as opposed to describing it in a paragraph or lists of text, the basic org chart greatly accelerated insight and understanding into organizational structures. The need for organizational clarity and the power of visualization remain at the heart of tomorrows org chart. The org chart of the future must provide the given viewer with impeccable clarity into ever-complicated organizational systems. Based on who you are and what you need to do, you’ll see the right picture to enable immediate insight and action.
