I am right now in Frankfurt where a small group of people have gathered to establish a European community of organization design practitioners (modelled on the US Organization Design Forum). We’ll spend two days discussing how to create a community … [Continue reading]
Metaphors we live by… in designing organizations

Have you ever noticed how people use metaphors in describing how their organization works? In my experience, managers and employees make extensive use of metaphors in explaining how they perceive their current organization, why they think it should … [Continue reading]
The importance of formal structure remains, even with modern communication technologies

As an organization design consultant, I am sometimes asked by clients how important formal structure is, relative to other factors such as culture or rewards.How strong is the link between structure and business performance?It is of course difficult … [Continue reading]
European Organization design conference/meeting November 11-12
November 11-12, the European Organisation Design Forum will hold its inaugural meeting in Frankfurt. The main purpose of the meeting will be to establish a community of organisation design practitioners (managers, internal and external consultants, … [Continue reading]
Balancing the hard and the soft elements: Podcast interview with Patricia Cichocki & Christine Irwin

Patricia Cichocki & Christine Irwin both started out as practitioners planning and implementing changes in large organizations and then returned to university to pursue further studies, and found that there was a wealth of tools and techniques … [Continue reading]