Extension: Organizational Design

“We shape our structures, and then our structures shape us.” - Winston Churchill

Why This Extension?

How organizations are structured determines how people work together, make decisions, and deliver value. Understanding org design helps you navigate complexity, build effective teams, and lead transformation.

Prerequisites: Phase 3A (Leadership Foundations), Phase 3B (People Operations)

Week 1: Evolution of Organizations

Core Concepts

Organizational Paradigms: Organizations evolve through stages, from fear-based hierarchies to self-managing networks. Each stage represents different assumptions about human nature and work.

Teal Organizations: The emerging paradigm of self-management, wholeness, and evolutionary purpose. No managers, distributed authority, people as whole humans.

The Problem of Complexity: Traditional hierarchies were designed for predictable work. Knowledge work and rapid change require new structures.

This Week’s Reading

📖 Reinventing Organizations by Frederic Laloux (Full book)

• The evolution of organizational paradigms
• Teal organizations and their practices
• Self-management structures
• Case studies: Buurtzorg, Morning Star, FAVI

Organizational Paradigms

Teal Breakthroughs

Reflection Questions

1. What color is your current organization? What stage does it operate from?
2. Where have you seen glimpses of self-management work?
3. What would be required to move your organization toward Teal?

Week 2: Team Structures

Core Concepts

Team Topologies: A structured approach to organizing teams for fast flow of value. Not just “squads” - intentional team design.

Cognitive Load: Teams can only handle so much complexity. Limiting cognitive load enables focus and delivery.

Team Interaction Modes: How teams interact matters as much as how they’re structured. Collaboration, X-as-a-Service, and Facilitation modes.

This Week’s Reading

📖 Team Topologies by Matthew Skelton & Manuel Pais (Full book)

• The four fundamental team types
• Team interaction modes
• Evolving team structures
• Conway’s Law and its implications

Four Fundamental Team Topologies

Team Interaction Modes

Conway’s Law

“Organizations which design systems are constrained to produce designs which are copies of the communication structures of these organizations.” - Melvin Conway

Implication: Your team structure will determine your product architecture. Design teams to match desired architecture.

Week 3: Designing Organizations

Core Concepts

The Star Model: Organization design requires alignment across strategy, structure, processes, rewards, and people. Change one, change all.

Spans and Layers: How wide (direct reports) and how tall (levels) affects speed, cost, and empowerment.

Matrix vs. Functional vs. Divisional: Classic org structures with different trade-offs.

This Week’s Reading

📖 The Org by Fisman & Sullivan (Selected chapters)

• Why organizations exist
• The economics of structure
• Trade-offs in design choices

The Star Model (Galbraith)

       Strategy
          ↓
    ┌─────────────┐
    │             │
Structure ← → Processes
    │             │
    └─────────────┘
          ↕
    People ← → Rewards

All elements must align for effective execution.

Common Org Structures

Design Principles

Week 4: Implementing Change

Core Concepts

Reorgs Done Right: Most reorgs fail to achieve their goals. Implementation matters as much as design.

Organizational Debt: Like technical debt, organizational debt accumulates from quick fixes and deferred decisions.

Continuous Design: Organizations should evolve continuously, not through big-bang reorgs.

Application: Designing Your Team

Create an org design proposal:

1. Current State Analysis: What’s working? What’s not? What’s the organizational debt?
2. Strategic Requirements: What does your strategy need from the org?
3. Team Design: What team topologies make sense?
4. Interaction Patterns: How should teams interact?
5. Evolution Plan: How will you transition?

Common Org Design Anti-Patterns

Capstone: Organizational Redesign

For your organization or a case study:

1. Diagnosis: What organizational challenges exist?
2. Paradigm Assessment: What stage is the organization at?
3. Team Topologies: How should teams be structured?
4. Star Model Alignment: Are all elements aligned?
5. Transition Plan: How to get from here to there?

Key Frameworks

Resources

Books

• ⭐⭐⭐ Reinventing Organizations (Essential - 10h)
• ⭐⭐⭐ Team Topologies (Essential - 7h)
• ⭐⭐ The Org (Recommended - 8h)

Case Studies

• Buurtzorg - Dutch healthcare self-management
• Spotify - Squad model evolution
• Haier - Microenterprise structure
• Morning Star - No managers, peer agreements

Free Resources

• Team Topologies resources - teamtopologies.com
• Re:Work - Google’s org design research
• Corporate Rebels - Alternative org models

AI Learning Integration

Org Design Analysis Prompt

Help me analyze an organization's design.

Organization: [describe the org - size, industry, current structure]

Guide me through analysis using:
1. What paradigm/stage does it operate at?
2. What team topologies are present?
3. How aligned is the Star Model (strategy, structure, processes, people, rewards)?
4. What organizational debt exists?
5. What changes would improve performance?

Team Design Prompt

Help me design team structures for a new initiative.

Initiative: [describe what needs to be built/delivered]
Current state: [describe existing teams]
Constraints: [budget, people, timeline]

Walk me through:
1. What team topologies make sense?
2. What interaction modes should teams use?
3. How should cognitive load be managed?
4. What's a good evolution path?

Phase Assessment

Complete the following to demonstrate org design competency:

1. Quiz: Organizational Design Concepts (30%)
2. Case Study: Org Redesign Challenge (70%)
   • Analyze current state using multiple frameworks
   • Propose a new design
   • Plan the transition

I'm studying Organizational Design (Phase EXT-ORG-DESIGN of my MBA program).

Act as a Socratic tutor - don't give me direct answers. Instead, ask me questions to help me discover insights about these concepts: Organizational Design, Structure & Systems.

Start by asking what I already know about one of these topics, then guide me deeper with follow-up questions. Challenge my assumptions when appropriate.

After each of my responses, either:
1. Ask a deeper follow-up question
2. Point out a gap in my reasoning
3. Connect my answer to another concept

Let's begin.

Quiz me on Organizational Design. Ask 10 questions covering: Organizational Design, Structure & Systems.

Rules:
- Mix question types (multiple choice, short answer, scenario-based)
- Start easier, get progressively harder
- After each answer, tell me if I'm right or wrong and explain why
- Keep a running score
- At the end, summarize what I know well vs. need to review

Ask the first question now.

Help me apply the main frameworks from this phase to a real situation in my life or work.

First, ask me to describe a recent challenge or decision I faced.

Then guide me through analyzing it using these frameworks:
- Which framework applies best?
- What would each framework reveal about the situation?
- What would I do differently knowing this?

Don't lecture - ask questions that help me discover the insights myself.

I want to practice case analysis for Organizational Design.

Give me a short business scenario (2-3 paragraphs) involving Organizational Design, Structure & Systems.

Then ask me:
1. What's the core problem?
2. Which frameworks from Organizational Design apply?
3. What biases might cloud judgment here?
4. What would you recommend?

After each answer, push back on my reasoning before moving to the next question.

I'm studying Organizational Design and need to understand these concepts deeply: Organizational Design, Structure & Systems.

For each concept, ask me to explain it in simple terms (as if to a child).

If my explanation is unclear or wrong, don't correct me directly. Instead:
1. Ask clarifying questions
2. Give me a scenario that tests my understanding
3. Help me refine my explanation

The Feynman technique says if you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough.