The Organizational Chart as a Meta-Idea

It is believed that Daniel McCallum created the first organizational chart in 1854 when he was in charge of the New York and Erie Railroad.  A McKinsey case study (login required) documents McCallum’s efforts, citing the work of Alfred Chandler, a former Harvard Business School professor. Though McCallum’s railroad was long, complex, and not terribly efficient — it did generate significant real time data, aided by the invention of the telegraph. The challenge was to organize the railroad’s employees in a way that allowed both the board and the employees to make use of incoming data to improve operations.

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This technology – the organizational chart – is a nice example of a meta-idea, an idea that spurs new ideas.  It allowed for innovation in both technologies (ideas about arranging physical objects) and rules ( ideas about structuring interactions among people), helping to organize and improve the flow of data and coordination among railroad employees.