“Premissionless” organisations are free and fast … able to experiment and innovate without the constant approval of hierarchies … like Amazon and Haier, Gitlab and 37Signals, Uniswap and Valve

September 20, 2024

It was US naval Rear Admiral Grace Hopper who first, famously suggested to his teams “ask for forgiveness, not permission” as a way to move faster, and overcome the frictions of organisational hierarchy.

“Permissionless” organisational structures refer to systems where individuals or teams can act, experiment, and innovate without needing constant approval from hierarchical authorities. This concept, borrowed from decentralized networks like blockchain, is increasingly relevant in the shift from traditional mass-production models to more agile, digital, personalized, and asset-light paradigms.

Here’s how “permissionless” structures support organisational change:

1. They are fast and adaptive

In the age of mass production, success depended on scale, efficiency, and standardization — characteristics well-suited to hierarchical command-and-control systems. But in today’s environment, where products and services are often digital, data-driven, and rapidly evolving, success hinges on speed, responsiveness, and constant iteration.

Permissionless structures empower individuals and teams to act without waiting for executive sign-off. This reduces bottlenecks, accelerates decision-making, and encourages continuous adaptation. Teams can respond directly to customer feedback, market shifts, and technological opportunities — a critical capability in a world of short product cycles and fast-changing user needs.

2. They empower local innovation

Asset-light, platform-based businesses (like Uber, Airbnb, or Shopify) thrive by leveraging ecosystems rather than owning infrastructure. Similarly, permissionless organizations shift innovation to the edges — empowering teams closest to customers, data, and context to drive change.

Instead of top-down directives, employees are trusted to test ideas, launch pilots, and iterate fast. This decentralised innovation model taps into the collective intelligence of the organisation, enabling many small bets rather than a few big ones.

3. They align with digital modular workflows

Digital business models are inherently modular and composable — built on APIs, microservices, and low-code/no-code tools. Organizational structures are evolving to match. In a permissionless system, cross-functional squads can self-assemble around projects, plug into shared resources, and build value without bureaucracy.

This mirrors how modern tech platforms operate — permissionless innovation has powered everything from open-source software to decentralized finance. When applied to internal teams, it unlocks experimentation, reduces dependency on rigid roles, and fosters a maker mindset.

4. They redefine leadership and accountability

In permissionless structures, leadership shifts from control to enablement. Leaders create guardrails, principles, and shared goals — but don’t micromanage execution. Accountability becomes peer-driven, with a strong emphasis on transparency, outcomes, and data.

This is particularly effective in purpose-driven or knowledge-based environments, where motivation is intrinsic, and alignment is achieved through shared vision rather than rules. It’s how companies like GitLab, Haier, and Valve operate — with radical transparency, open decision-making, and distributed authority.

5. They are more resilient and adaptive

Legacy structures were built for predictability. But the digital era is defined by uncertainty, complexity, and exponential change. Permissionless models are antifragile — they allow organizations to evolve organically, learn from failure, and reinvent continuously.

Companies like Amazon (with its “two-pizza teams”) and Tesla (with flat, engineering-led teams) show how decentralization fuels reinvention. As industries become more fluid and boundaries blur, the ability to pivot fast becomes a competitive advantage — and permissionless systems make that possible.

Here are some of the best known examples of “permissionless” organisations adopting such principles:

Haier, the world’s largest home appliances company

  • What: Rendanheyi – thousands of micro-enterprises
  • How: Haier dismantled its traditional hierarchy and reorganized into over 4,000 self-managed “micro-enterprises.” Each team operates like a startup with P&L responsibility, direct customer engagement, and freedom to choose partners and projects — even from outside Haier. Leadership serves as a platform, not a command center.
  • Why: This structure has enabled rapid innovation, closer customer relationships, and the incubation of entirely new business models. Haier’s transformation has made it a global role model for decentralized organization.

GitLab, the digital open management platform

  • What: Radical transparency and asynchronous workflows
  • How: GitLab is a fully remote company where anyone can contribute ideas and improvements across the entire business. Its company handbook — over 2,000 pages — is open to the public, and employees are encouraged to self-serve, propose changes, and take initiative without waiting for top-down approval.
  • Why: GitLab scaled from a small open-source project to a billion-dollar company with thousands of employees and customers — all while embracing autonomy, transparency, and continuous iteration.

Valve, the American video gaming publisher

  • What: No formal hierarchy, team self-selection
  • How: Valve famously has no bosses. Employees choose which projects to work on, and teams form organically. Desks are even on wheels so people can move to new teams physically. The company trusts its people to decide how to create the most value.
  • Why: Valve has produced massively successful, disruptive games (e.g. Half-Life, Portal, Dota 2) and the Steam platform — innovations that emerged from bottom-up initiative rather than strategic mandates.

Amazon, the everything store with two-pizza teams

  • What: Autonomous teams with modular infrastructure
  • How: Jeff Bezos’s “two-pizza rule” mandates that teams should be small enough to be fed with two pizzas and operate autonomously. Amazon also requires all teams to expose their capabilities via internal APIs — meaning teams can build independently, integrate quickly, and iterate fast.
  • Why: This structure enabled Amazon to build AWS, Alexa, and Prime as distinct, customer-focused innovations that could scale without centralized bottlenecks.

37Signals, aka Basecamp, the US software company

  • What: Flat, asynchronous, low-intervention management
  • How: 37signals intentionally resists hierarchy, meetings, and busywork. Teams self-organize around six-week cycles, build autonomously, and release independently. The leadership provides direction, but not constant oversight.
  • Why: They’ve sustained profitability, simplicity, and loyal users for over 20 years — showing that permissionless, calm cultures can thrive in digital environments.

Uniswap & DAOs, decentralised code-based organisations

  • What: Protocols, smart contracts, and token-based governance
  • How: Uniswap (a decentralized crypto exchange) operates via smart contracts — users can build, transact, or innovate on the protocol without needing permission from a central authority. DAOs (Decentralized Autonomous Organizations) take this further, enabling decentralized governance where anyone with a token can propose or vote on changes.
  • Why: While experimental, these models offer a glimpse into how permissionless structures might evolve in future digital-native enterprises — blending code, community, and autonomy.

These organisations span industries — manufacturing, tech, gaming, finance — yet all show that removing barriers to action and decentralising authority enables faster learning, deeper engagement, and greater adaptability.

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