Organizational Innovation Through Design

A regenerative approach to work design is powerful precisely because it provides a coherent worldview and a framework for integrating all dimensions of human and business development.

Design organizations are increasingly expected to contribute to product strategy, but these structures support little more than product delivery. If the team is asked to develop a vision for the future product experience 2-3 years out, how do they get it done?

Seeing design as part of a living system applies equally to more subtle design tasks, like the “design” of guiding ideas. “Organization design is widely misconstrued as moving around boxes and lines,” Bill O’Brien used to say. “The first task of organizational design concerns designing the governing ideas—the purpose, vision, and core values by whi

With this in mind, here are the basic steps to organizational design: 1. Figure out what needs to be communicated. Start by listing the most important knowledge and who needs to have it. For example, knowledge of the product architecture must be understood by engineering, QA, product management, marketing, and sales. 2. Figure out what needs to be

When I use the term design, I refer to the act of intentionally generating something new, something that responds creatively to the specific needs and opportunities of a business, its customers, and its employees.