The hottest Organizational Design Substack posts right now

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TBM 336: Product OS Design Tips and Principles

The Beautiful Mess • 1414 implied HN points • 26 Jan 25
💼 Business Product Design Leadership Organizational Design Human factors
  1. Think of your product operating system like a product itself. It needs to fit everyone's needs and constantly adapt to new challenges.
  2. Senior leaders should take responsibility for the product operating system. Their commitment is crucial to build trust and ensure everyone follows the guidelines.
  3. Start with simple interactions and routines for teams to use regularly. Well-designed rituals help improve communication and decision-making while reducing bureaucracy.

⤴⤵ Up Wing/Down Wing #29

Faster, Please! • 365 implied HN points • 21 Dec 24
🕹 Technology AI Machine Learning Organizational Design Innovation Workplace culture
  1. OpenAI has introduced a new AI called o3, which is really good at solving math and science problems. It even did better than its previous version in many tasks.
  2. Companies will start changing how they work by using AI more in their structure. This can help teams work better together and boost productivity in the workplace.
  3. AI is becoming an important part of how organizations will operate in the future. Successful companies will mix human skills with AI to improve their processes and create more value.

8 Forecasts & Implications for the Years Ahead :: 2024+

Implications, by Scott Belsky • 1356 implied HN points • 04 Jan 24
🕹 Technology AI Education Entertainment Organizational Design Data Analysis
  1. The future will be personalized to your preferences, with digital experiences tailored to you.
  2. Local OS-native AI models will improve everyday life and redefine consumer AI, focusing on personalization, trust, and privacy.
  3. Small brands will become more competitive with big brands, AI will influence purchase decisions, and education will undergo a significant transformation.

Why brand comes first

The Sociology of Business • 657 implied HN points • 29 Jan 24
💼 Business Brand Management Organizational Design Marketing Retail Product Design
  1. Short-term thinking in brand-building focuses on quick sales, leading to discount-dependency, while long-term prioritizes full-funnel strategy and brand desirability.
  2. Brand strategy goes beyond marketing, involving product design, retail, and cultural influence for modern retail success.
  3. Brand management emphasizes organizational cooperation, cultural awareness, and coordination across departments to renew brand perception and maintain relevance.

The Leverage Points in Engineering Ecosystems

peoplefirstengineering • 50 implied HN points • 18 Dec 24
🕹 Technology Systems Thinking Software Engineering Complexity Theory Change Management Organizational Design
  1. Complex systems, like software teams, are made up of many parts that interact with each other and change over time. Understanding these interactions can help improve how we manage and work within these systems.
  2. Donella Meadows' framework shows that not all changes in a system will have the same impact. Some changes, like adjusting goals or encouraging new mindsets, can lead to much bigger improvements than simply tweaking numbers or rules.
  3. To create a successful and adaptable environment, it's important to give teams the freedom to self-organize, share information openly, and align their goals with the overall mission of the organization.
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Collapsing the Talent Stack, Persona-Led Growth & Designing Organizations for the Future

Implications, by Scott Belsky • 845 implied HN points • 06 Jul 23
💼 Business Organizational Design
  1. Edition #8 of Implications covers topics like restructuring teams, leveraging AI and collapsing talent stacks.
  2. In the age of AI, organizations need to focus on refactoring functions, embracing new technology like Generative AI, and understanding the impact on jobs.
  3. Persona-led growth emphasizes the importance of personal branding, user experience design, and the implications of company personification.

TBM 269: Three Organizational Design Principles

The Beautiful Mess • 1057 implied HN points • 27 Jan 24
💼 Business Organizational Design Collaboration Leadership Management Complexity
  1. Hierarchical Collaboration Parity is crucial for success in organizations - leaders need to collaborate as much as front-line team members.
  2. Alignment and Work Style Gaps need to be addressed to improve team effectiveness.
  3. Organizations must confront deep-seated tensions, or 'Elephants in the Room', to prevent adverse outcomes and stress on teams.

On Work.

The Future Does Not Fit In The Containers Of The Past • 27 implied HN points • 01 Dec 24
💼 Business Work Culture Remote work Future Trends Leadership Organizational Design
  1. Work is a big part of our lives. It gives us money, identity, and community, plus it helps us grow and find purpose.
  2. We're going to see big changes in how we work because of technology and shifting mindsets. Many people will start freelance jobs or want more flexibility in their work.
  3. It's important for both employees and companies to rethink what work means and how they can adapt. This includes updating skills, structures, and strategies to thrive in the future.

Rethinking organisation technology

The Uncertainty Mindset (soon to become tbd) • 119 implied HN points • 18 Oct 23
💼 Business Organizational Design Human Resources Innovation Strategy Leadership
  1. Conventional hiring methods lead to rigid organizations. Instead, using open-ended roles helps companies adapt better to uncertainty.
  2. Open-ended roles allow employees to shift responsibilities and roles over time. This flexibility helps organizations respond quickly to changing situations.
  3. Organizations need to adopt different strategies for addressing true uncertainty, rather than just managing risk. This means being more open and adaptable from the start.

Organizational technology for uncertainty work

The Uncertainty Mindset (soon to become tbd) • 119 implied HN points • 06 Oct 23
💼 Business Organizational Design Innovation Strategy Risk management
  1. Uncertainty work is different from risk work. While risk work involves clear outcomes and known probabilities, uncertainty work deals with unknowns and needs flexible strategies.
  2. Everyday organizational processes shape how companies function. If these processes are based on outdated best practices that assume stability, they can hinder the ability to handle uncertainty.
  3. To succeed in uncertainty work, organizations must redesign their processes for hiring, goal-setting, and motivation. This means being open to change and creating conditions that encourage learning and adaptation.

Should Your Data Science Team be Centralized or Decentralized? Why Not Intentionally Rotate?

Mike Talks AI • 98 implied HN points • 19 May 23
🕹 Technology Data science Team Management Organizational Design
  1. Consider a hybrid approach for data science teams to balance the strengths of both centralized and decentralized setups.
  2. Some companies are experimenting with intentionally rotating between centralized and decentralized structures every few years.
  3. Switching between centralization and decentralization periodically allows for exploration and scalability of diverse ideas within data science teams.

Bits, Bytes, and Bylaws: Timeless Computing Laws (Part - 2)

Wisdom over Waves • 59 implied HN points • 28 Dec 23
🕹 Technology Software Development Programming Organizational Design Metrics Management
  1. Adding more people to a late software project can make it even later due to various factors like onboarding time, increased coordination needs, and additional deployments causing outages.
  2. When a measure becomes the target, it loses its effectiveness, leading to actions like renaming variables or engaging in practices that prioritize metrics over true code quality.
  3. The structure of the software often mirrors the communication structure of the organization that designed it, showcasing the impact of company dynamics on software architecture.

Is the team for you or are you for the team?

Sunday Letters • 119 implied HN points • 18 Sep 22
💼 Business Leadership Management Teamwork Organizational Design Human Resources
  1. Think of leadership like an upside-down org chart. The people doing the work should be at the top, and the manager is there to support them. It shows that the team's work is what truly matters.
  2. Managers shouldn't push team members into roles they aren't excited about. Instead, they should place people where their skills fit best, benefiting the team.
  3. The team exists to achieve goals together, not to serve the manager's needs. As a manager, your job is to help the team solve their problems, not the other way around.

Companies Build "Capabilities" Before They Build "Moats"

Equal Ventures • 19 implied HN points • 23 Oct 22
💼 Business Strategy Competitive advantage Organizational Design
  1. Companies need to focus on building 'capabilities' before establishing 'moats' for sustainable long-term value.
  2. Capabilities, like network effects and organizational design, are intangible assets driving competitive advantage.
  3. Understanding and actively working on developing specific capabilities is essential for building a strong competitive strategy.

#15: Maintenance by design

The Uncertainty Mindset (soon to become tbd) • 119 implied HN points • 12 Feb 20
💼 Business Organizational Design Systems Thinking Strategic Planning Change Management
  1. Maintenance isn't just about fixing broken things. It can also mean improving what already exists and ensuring everything runs smoothly.
  2. Design systems to be flexible and aware of changes in their environment. This helps them adapt quickly without breaking down.
  3. Having a diverse setup, like different types of wheat in a field, makes systems more stable and less fragile. They can adjust better to unexpected challenges.

#41: Surrendering control

The Uncertainty Mindset (soon to become tbd) • 59 implied HN points • 12 Aug 20
💼 Business Innovation Leadership Organizational Design Entrepreneurship Work Culture
  1. Sharing unfinished ideas can feel uncomfortable, but it helps improve them. Getting feedback from others is a valuable part of developing your thoughts.
  2. Leaders often hesitate to let go of control because of a fear of failure. Recognizing this fear is the first step to allowing innovation to thrive in an organization.
  3. Creating boundaries and instructions can help leaders let their team innovate without interference. Sometimes, all they need to do is step back and trust their team.

#39: Remove the plow and hive

The Uncertainty Mindset (soon to become tbd) • 59 implied HN points • 29 Jul 20
💼 Business Innovation Organizational Design Risk management Flexibility Decision-making
  1. It's important to understand risks properly by knowing all possible outcomes and their chances, instead of just labeling everything uncertain as risky.
  2. Taking small steps and learning from them is better than waiting to act. This helps you understand what's happening as things change.
  3. Being flexible and open to new opportunities is more helpful than trying to make everything super efficient. This way, you're ready when good chances come along.