>> I don't think the shape of the org chart actually matters all that much. It's the channels of communication, which way information flows, and how much autonomy the leaf nodes have that actually matter.

Perhaps that is not what is indicated by a traditional org chart (who reports to who), but the "real" org chart does have vertices (people) and edges of different kinds. The most important factor is the amount of time that you control. 1.0 means you completely control your own time, 10.0 means you completely control the time of 10 people. The real org graph is what I am referring to.

Interesting that Amazon is as bureaucratic as it is. Isn't it Bezos himself that came up with the "multiple paths to yes" concept. I suppose, some things are inevitable in an organization once someone has the power press the stop button one's income.