There is clearly something very wrong with the way most companies above a certain size are managed. They are fragmented, wasteful, slow, over-bureaucratic, unable to leverage internal talent, detached from their customers’ needs and, in most cases, a frustrating place to work. When a global crisis hits, these inadequacies become acute and a real threat […]
Deloitte’s ‘Adaptable Organization’ Transformation – Nice Images, Shame About the Content
We are not in the business of comparing or contrasting what other consultants do. Consequently, we would not normally engage in a takedown of anybody’s work. However, the inadequacies of what Deloitte is proposing with its ‘Adaptable Organization’ could not elude us. We’re grateful to all those thousands who viewed our post on LinkedIn […]
Flatter, Faster, Fairer – Operational Changes for a Flatter Organization
If traditional style hierarchies are no longer appropriate for our fast-changing world, then what is a realistic, operational alternative? How can we make organizations flatter and at the same time ensure speed of flow and meaningful work in a fair way? And how to we achieve a flatter organization operationally? Start with the right mindset The […]
Buffer Money -Radically Protecting Projects
Today’s post is by our Founder, Dr. Domenico Lepore. We have been writing extensively about the benefits of a design that mirrors the inherent project nature of the work of any organization. We call it the ‘Network of Projects’ organization design. The steps to build a Network of Projects organization are: 1) Recognizing that organizations are Systems, Networks of […]
Silos – Overcoming the Enemy of Digital Transformation
If organizations need to learn anything today it’s how to overcome silos. Silos are the number one enemy of productivity and competitiveness, especially in digital transformation. They also seriously threaten the quality of life of employees. An article by former Navy Seal Chris Fussell ‘The battlefield experience that made me realize the danger of silos and isolated […]
Biggest Challenge? Not Technology but the Organization Design
A truth is beginning to emerge about how reality is shifting in organizations. It was voiced clearly in a presentation yesterday by the CEO of a forward-thinking digital solutions provider in Italy, Stefano Righetti of Hyphen-Italia. The truth is this: no company will be able do without Digital Transformation, at least for its core processes. […]
Bulldoze Business Schools? A New Systemic Curriculum for Complexity in Business and Management
Our business world is changing rapidly. Complexity dominates and old solutions no longer work. Some refer to this as the ‘Fourth Industrial Revolution’. Given all these changes, it is remarkable to see that MBAs are offering much the same program content as 20 years ago. A Professor in the UK has gone as far as […]
From Silos to System: How to Build an Organization Fit for Complexity
Why are organizations still plagued with all the drawbacks of silos? Because they still adopt a worldview that is out of synch with our times. In order to navigate complexity, organizations must shift from the obsolete, Newtonian worldview of individual, separate and hierarchical parts. What is the direction they need to adopt? Working towards a […]
Managing Risk through a Leverage Point (constraint) – A Systems View
In our last post Understanding Uncertainty and Systemic Risk in Organizations we explained how management must involve the management of variation. Every single process, relationship and communication in our organization, whether we are aware of it or not, is affected by variation. If we ignore variation then we are not managing, and if we are not […]
The Theory of Constraints for IT and DevOps (or How to Train Your Phoenix)
Intelligent Management Inc. was invited by the IT department of a large insurance company to teach them about the Theory of Constraints for IT. They had read a book called ‘The Phoenix Project’ that points to the Theory of Constraints as a solution for radically improving software development and delivery. In this post we look […]