The Founding Flaw of Matrix Organizing
Last year I was on a podcast with my friends at Zappi, and we got to talking about matrix orgs – there's an old bug inside the system, and it'll never go away.
Clay Parker Jones
I lead Organizational Design at Airbnb. Previously: August, Undercurrent.
Org Structure predicts Code Quality
Because of course it does. That said, here's some research you can show your boss.
Shopify's Meeting Diet
Shopify cancelled 76,500 hours of meetings. I think that's great.
Five Org Design Things N° 5
Excess management, Big-biz hiring stall, AI for organizing, Issues at Salesforce, and my thoughts on carve-outs 'n' central services.
The Great Managerial Transfer
The coming transfer from hierarchies of individuals to networks of teams, an exploration of executive comp, and a look back to the 1950s.
Disruption is on Decline
I think it's because of org structure and approval processes. Implications for marketing organizations abound.
The State of Teaming: Most are bad. Some are really, really good
Researchers examined +200k teams to see how performance is distributed. There's a LOT of poor-performing teams, and a lot more exceptional teams than expected!
Are.na's About Page
Are.na is a place to collect content and work on ideas in private or with others – and their About Page is as good as I've seen.
Skills Maturity Matrix + Organizational Pace Layers
People love Skills-Maturity Matrices, and with good reason – they help bring clarity to next steps and learning opportunities. We can make them better by applying Pace Layers to them. Here's how.
Centralization (For Marketers)
Centralization isn't a good thing or a bad thing. It's a pendulum that swings back and forth, and the key is to centralize and decentralize with intention. And to learn from what you've done.
Pace Layers for Organization
Pace Layers help visualize, distinguish, and discuss different kinds of work and teams within an organization. Here, I bring together a bunch of great thinking into a single construct. Enjoy!
Use DICE instead of RACI
RACI is vague, hard to use, and reinforces the "what the hell is happening here" status quo. DICE is specific, easy to use, and shines a bright light on dysfunction.