The Essential Advantage

CHAPTER ELEVEN

ORGANIZING FOR COHERENCE

Most businesspeople have been through endless reorganizations. Each reorganization has its rationale, but rarely does it have anything to do with strategy. Some are intended to orient the business geographically; others to centralize activity toward headquarters; many to take out costs; still others to provide more autonomy to local business units. But few reorganizations are driven by the company’s strategy. In fact, like cost, the topic of organization is usually seen as quite distinct from strategy.

What if, instead, you restructured your organizational hierarchy to support your way to play and to make the most of your capabilities system? Moreover, what if you deliberately set up informal conversations ...