Why Hierarchies in Organisations Aren’t All Bad

Hierarchical structures can be useful even for teams that need to be agile.

Why Agile May Be Fragile

The hype around Agile organizations needs some debunking, so that Agile’s actual value can be salvaged.

Phanish Puranam, Julien Clément

We are fans of Agile practices as a solution to a distinct class of problems in certain contexts, such as those involving a search, be it for new designs, product features or even management policies. Agile practices use rapid, parallel and inexpensive iterations to solve search problems. If there are parts of your organization that can benefit from this kind of problem solving, then Agile … [ Read more ]

Phanish Puranam

Every organization, regardless of its scale, faces the same universal problems: how to divide goals into tasks (division of labor) and how to put the results back together again (integration of effort). While these problems are universal, there are many different approaches to solving them, and a set of such solutions is an organization’s design.

How to Make Corporate Hierarchy More Likable

People clearly prefer flatter organizations, with less power distance between the tip and the base of the pyramid.

Phanish Puranam

Traditional theories and frameworks pertaining to strategic resource allocation – such as the famous BCG growth-share matrix, (or the very similar GE/McKinsey matrix) which categorizes businesses according to market share and growth potential –omit consideration of synergies. Paradoxically, these frameworks, which have been synonymous with corporate strategy, give short shrift to its most fundamental issue: corporate advantage. Thinking about investment in standalone terms may mislead … [ Read more ]

Factoring Synergies into Resource Allocation Decisions

Pigeonholing business units into categories like “dogs” and “stars” gives short shrift to the most important elements of corporate strategy.

What Corporate Strategists Need to Know About Synergies

Understanding the distinctive “footprints” of four different types of synergy can help improve the way you value and implement corporate strategies.