informal coalitions

Book review: Guide to Organisation Design

From an informal coalitions perspective all formal organization designs merely provide 'inputs' to the in-the-moment sensemaking from which localised actions arise and 'global' (eg organization-wide) outcomes ultimately emerge. Formal structures, systems and processes both enable and constrain this sensemaking and action taking. But these cannot determine what actually emerges - or how those 'outcomes' are themselves perceived, interpreted, evaluated and acted upon as part of the ongoing process of conversational interaction.

Organization design does not therefore provide the 'magic bullet' for organizational change and performance that many of its proponents claim.  At the same time, there can be little argument that if organizational (re-)design is on the agenda it needs to be done well. And this is where Dr Naomi Stanford's excellent book on the subject, Guide to Organisation Design fits in.

Throughout, she manages to combine a passionate belief in the value of systematic, business-focused organization design with a healthy scepticism for any position that might suggest that the formal outputs of the process (such as organization charts, roles and relationships) provide a guaranteed blueprint for success or a once-and-for-all solution.

Continuity, creativity and change in conversation

I returned to the UK from a 'long weekend' break in Brussels yesterday.  On the train from London to our local station, my wife said that there would be a lot of females waiting for me when I got home!