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Organize for Complexity

How to Get Life Back Into Work to Build the High-Performance Organization

If you want to truly understand something, try to change it.

Kurt Lewin

  • Taylorism separated organizations into thinking managers and non-thinking human resources
    • it worked for a while, but not anymore
    • 3 gaps
      • social: management by numbers & leadership by fear
      • functional: narrow, fragmented responsibilities need coordination & hierarchy
      • time: thinkers need to forecast and plan for doers
    • the whole system is inhumane and wasteful
  • complicated vs complex
    • complicated systems are standardized, precise, and predictable
    • complex systems are observable but not predictable or controllable

To treat complex organizations as complicated systems is a fundamental thinking mistake, an over-simplification.

Systems are not improved by tinkering with the parts, but by working on their interactions

  • symptoms vs problems
    • we see the symptoms of problems
    • 5 why’s helps identify root causes

The attempt to find solutions for symptoms alone, or to tinker with symptoms before the problem has been understood, is called activism.

Complex, intertwined problems are called messes.

Clean up a small number of messes to fix many problems and alleviate many more symptoms.

Tools are unsuitable to deal with messes.

Activism breeds failure and makes learning impossible.

People are intrinsically motivated.

The main thing that organizations can do to stimulate performance is facilitating options for connection between individuals and throughout the organization, through purpose and meaningful work.

In complexity, diversity in motivations and preferences can be an asset, or a liability, depending on the level of self-reflection present.