The Secret

[Tl;Dr] The Secret to a Thriving Economy: More Autonomy, Not Less

It bugs the hell out of me that so many people, especially politicians, whine constantly about productivity, and the lacklustre performance of their economies, yet are totally unwilling to face the obvious.

At the Macro Scale

The economic machines of countries around the world churn day and night, fueled by the collective efforts of millions of workers, business owners, and policy makers. But what really makes an economy hum? What’s the not-so-secret secret ingredient to robust economic growth and prosperity?

In a word: autonomy.

Now, that may seem counterintuitive. Our first instinct is often to seek more oversight and direction when we want something to improve. However, if we look at the most successful, innovative economic powerhouses around the globe, the common thread is individual autonomy, not micromanagement.

Give people more freedom over their economic decisions and the way their work works, and you unleash productivity. Reduce regulations, barriers to starting businesses, and bureaucratic red tape and you spur entrepreneurship. Relax the economic controls governments so often layer into their policies and you tap into the inspirations and ambitions of ordinary citizens.

At the Micro Scale

The same principle applies within companies and organisations. The most successful firms like MorningStar, Huawei, and WL Gore empower employees to take initiative and run with ideas without burdensome bureaucratic processes hindering them. They understand breakthrough innovations most often come from teams on the frontlines, not via top-down control from management hierarchies. Organising intent might come from the core group, but optimal decisions live within teams doing the on-the-ground work.

Government agencies also function better when field offices study demand in customers’ terms, and stay tuned to citizens’ needs rather than trying to impose rigid one-size-fits-all policies. Workers interacting directly with constituents invariably grasp requirements better than officials at headquarters absorbed in bureaucratic minutiae. More autonomy and less restrictive protocols serve citizens better.

The fact is, empowered people drive growth through innovation. Central planning stifles it. Bureaucrats simply can’t gather and process economic information as efficiently as multitudes coordinating voluntarily in their own self-interest. And heavy-handed governments often misallocate resources to politically favored recipients instead of productive avenues.

Summary

So if you want a dynamic, thriving economy or organisation, the secret is to step back, not forward. The most effective organisations thrive by focusing on providing sound money, enforcing contracts, securing property rights, and then stepping back. They recognise that excessive process and over-regulation via bureaucratic diktats tend to restrict, not unleash, productive economic engines.