Kotter v. Prosci v. Lippitt-Knoster
A quick look at two change management models that are good for consultants and bad for companies, and one good one that you should actually use.
Clay Parker Jones
I lead Organizational Design at Airbnb. Previously: August, Undercurrent.
Why Nothing Gets Done Around Here
Hundreds of thousands of hours are getting wasted on bad decision-rights. It’s got to stop. (Contains at least two good ways to fix this problem.)
The Matrix Design Canvas
A tool that helps managers and individual contributors design systems that get better performance out of dual-reporting roles.
Five Org Design Things N° 8
Turns out it's about learning, all the way down: How basic technologies shift strategy; Microsoft's org structure research; X-Teams; building Service Design capability; democracy at work
Netflix, Democracy, and ~Operational Excellence
Why Netflix's approach to complexity – going all the way back to 2001 – creates better results.
Five Org Design Things N° 7
Collaboration edition! Yumemi’s org design; Collaboration is dead; Elbows of data; How to make good documents; How to run good workshops
How Internal Capabilities Evolve
Platform teams are an alternative to matrix orgs and siloed, repetitive SBUs.
Activist Presentations & Corporate Structure
TLDR: Activist investors want lean SBUs, and they don't love that matrix
Undercurrent Story Forms
Five ways to structure your deck to be sure you're telling a story, not just writing action headlines and bullets powered by chatGPT.
Why Does DARPA Work?
A few standout practices: Opacity; Outsourcing for stronger internal networks; Deep technical reviews of ongoing programs.
Five Org Design Things N° 6
The 95th percentile isn’t that impressive; how DRIs worked at Apple; Effective leaders decide about deciding; Rooting out bias in decisions; AI and interest rates
Three Unexpected Practices for Better Productivity (Talk Deck/Video)
Back in 2018, I had the privilege of visiting with HR leaders at a big beer company to discuss my experiences with teaming inside large organizations.