Netflix, Democracy, and ~Operational Excellence
Why Netflix's approach to complexity – going all the way back to 2001 – creates better results.
Topic
Organization Design
How can we get more of what we want, and less of what we don't want, from where we work? How do we do that with intention? How do we allow for emergence?
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
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
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.
Org Structure predicts Code Quality
Because of course it does. That said, here's some research you can show your boss.
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.