Management is about coping with complexity.

As Devon has grown in size and complexity, so have the responsibilities of our management team. These promotions reflect both changes in the company's organizational structure and the valuable contributions of these individuals to the company's continuing success.

Smaller companies have lower costs and less complexity, and traditional identity-management systems have been too expensive. But 'less' doesn't mean no complexity; at some point, they all need this solution, especially Microsoft users, and the market for companies with between 500 and 2,500 employees is not being served.

Because management deals mostly with the status quo and leadership deals mostly with change, in the next century we are going to have to try to become much more skilled at creating leaders.

The changes improve accountability and reduce complexity in our management structure. Aligning our managers directly with our key priorities will result in better execution and effectiveness.

Effective leaders help others to understand the necessity of change and to accept a common vision of the desired outcome.