How to Improve Team Performance
So you want to improve the performance of your team? Start with good team design. I started doing this method with clients and teams in 2013? 2014? and it’s still the undisputed champ.
Clay Parker Jones
I lead Organizational Design at Airbnb. Previously: August, Undercurrent.
Most Teams are Low Performing
Sometimes, it's hard to get teams and leaders to understand that *most teams* have a ton of performance upside. I think that stems from thinking that the average team has pretty middling performance: not great, but not terrible. The truth is that the average team is low-performing.
Repeatable Workshop Methods
My ~sorta default setup for a workshop these days is to run these two sessions back-to-back: Future Backwards (from Dave Snowden/Cynefin), to sort out key topics that the team needs to address, then World Café, to actually work on those topics.
Use DICE instead of RACI (Video)
Don't use a RACI. If you must use something like it, use DICE (Decides, Informs, Consults, Executes). It's easier to understand, and shines a brighter spotlight on problems.
10x Productivity with Team Structure
…and give your business a chance to complete projects that make a big difference in terms of growth.
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.
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
Reimagining the marketing organization in the age of generative AI
I reviewed the academic literature on the potential for AI machine learning to automate certain professional tasks. Then I compared and ranked those functions against an actual marketing org – a mere 7% of which is strongly resistant to automation.
How your org structure is leaving millions on the table
An approach that yields unbelievable levels of productivity, driven by a focus on the work that matters most for growth. In practice, this initially feels like cheating.
Emergent Learning & Development: Guide to How and Why
Included in this guide are a few ways to re-think your approach to development, some prerequisites to this approach, and three ideas for how to sprint toward a new way.