# The First Org Chart

*Tom Geraghty · Stories & Cases, Organisational Design, Power*

Traces the first organisational chart to Daniel McCallum's 1855 New York and Erie Railroad diagram — created to solve a genuine coordination problem at scale. Examines how visualising hierarchy encoded assumptions about authority and information flow that persist in org chart thinking today.

- **This page:** https://explore.psychsafety.com/n/the-first-organisational-chart/
- **Read the full article on psychsafety.com:** https://psychsafety.com/the-first-organisational-chart/
- **Interactive map:** https://explore.psychsafety.com/?node=first-org-chart

## Connected concepts (4)

- [Typologies of Power](https://explore.psychsafety.com/n/typologies-of-power.md)
- [History of PS](https://explore.psychsafety.com/n/the-history-of-psychological-safety.md)
- [Command & Control](https://explore.psychsafety.com/n/psychological-safety-56-command-control.md)
- [Flat Orgs & Hierarchy](https://explore.psychsafety.com/n/flat-organisations-hierarchy-and-power.md)