It sounds like our experiences were similar; I was very anti-process, but now see the value.

I read about a really interesting concept - "the null process" [0] - recently. The idea is that there is always a set way of doing things (a process) whether it's documented or not.

[0] - https://kateheddleston.com/blog/the-null-process

The danger of process is that while some amount of official process is super valuable, it's very very very hard to only have a little process.

Once you start hiring for people specifically responsible for managing the process, you've got people whose incentives line up more with "furthering the process" than "furthering the underlying enterprise."

But yeah, places that say they have no process are falling into the same trap as places with "flat orgs" - there are always some power brokers once you're over 10 people or so, it's just not always documented (and even a non-flat org can hide the true power holders).

Yeah, as in all things in life, balance is required.

That sounds like a pretty good heuristic, btw - when you are hiring people who only manage process, question your amount of process.