Dear all,
Last week I had the pleasure to give a talk about „Digitalisation“ – and why I believe it to encompass a lot more than just adding „4.0“ to random terms. (I’ll put the gist of it into a LinkedIn post shortly.)

One of the topics discussed most in personal conversation afterwards was the need of current organizations models to adapt to the digital transformation. Hence this week’s readings are centered around this topic.

Based on data from more than 800 firms undergoing digital transformation, the MIT Sloan Center for Information Systems Research predicts organizations to encounter up to four ‚organizational explosions‘ en route to a digitally enabled business.

Deloitte makes the case that working in teams will become the norm. They also contend that the capability to quickly and flexibly form and disband teams will become key, alongside new communication tools and feedback mechanisms.

A somewhat cautionary tale about radical organization models is being told in Adam Henshall’s „How 4 Startups are Reinventing Organizational Structure“. While the post is a bit TLDR and ends in a sales pitch for Henshall’s company, it provides number of thought-provoking closeups into some daring structural experiments at Zappos, Buffer, and others.

If you should still lust for change after all that, McKinsey’s „Getting Organizational Redesign Right“ outlines 9 golden rules for organization redesign. At least „Focus first on the longer-term strategic aspirations“, „Take time to survey the scene“, and „Make sure business leaders communicate“ appear to be neglected all too often in my experience.

There is a thunderstorm coming up outside my office window, just in time for the weekend ☹ .Have a great one!

Cheers,
Godehard