Someone one said that democracy in action isn’t pretty, but it’s better than the alternatives. That’s pretty much the same with flat organizations.
The greatest benefit of the flat organization is that a company can react more quickly to customer and technological changes. Speed, one of the 7 critical Brand U practices, is a critical feature of business success. First to market. First to respond. First to scale. The list goes on. The fewer layers between the top and the bottom of the organization, the more chance there’s going to be more ‘firsts.