When people talk about matrix organizations, different ideas come to mind. In the most straightforward sense, a matrix organization is when one individual formally reports to two or more managers (solid and dotted lines). We might also say that a matrix is one form (there are many) of organizational linking mechanisms that enable organizations to work across organizational boundaries. While … Read more
AlignOrg Solutions recently hosted a free webinar helping companies explore platform business models. What makes them so desirable? How are they different from traditional business models? Why are they getting so much attention? Despite the appeal, one of the challenges of a platform business model is the governance systems required to make them operate effectively to take advantage of the … Read more
Ever gone to a conference and heard stories from other great organizations about the innovative practices they are implementing? Ever come away from those conferences thinking, “How can I help our organization become an industry leader in such-and-such a practice?” If you have experienced these thoughts, you are not alone – many business and function leaders in organizations are constantly … Read more
Companies that successfully offer well-established platforms to their customers (like Apple, Airbnb, Uber, and Amazon) continue to receive a lot of attention and with good reason. Their platform business models have allowed them to gain greater market share, establish an ecosystem of goods/services, and offer differentiated experiences to their customers. But, how does a business model platform differ from more … Read more
Digital transformation is receiving a lot of press as businesses relentlessly redefine how they deliver value and relate with customers. The question that needs to be asked is, “How will digital transformation produce value and differentiation for my organization? In the midst of increased digital transformation “noise,” strategic and organization design implications are often assumed but not specified. Just like … Read more
Leveraging your executive team to co-create or co-design your organization is an organization design best practice. It creates buy-in from the organization, facilitates change management efforts, helps eliminate blind spots in the design, and ultimately creates a more competitive organization. For most executives and leaders that we work with, they understand this important design principle intuitively. However, we have found … Read more
In the past, I have written about how to measure your business transformation efforts and how alignment leaders and change partners alike can determine, as an organization, when a transformation is completed. This discussion sits squarely between these two subjects and attempts to examine the point at which customers and employees notice that organization change is happening—the moment of truth. … Read more
Best practices can be a powerful tool to help organizations improve their marketplace performance, differentiate their business, and help functions become more effective and efficient. However, best practices can also cause the opposite. Essentially, the constant quest for industry best practices can, at times, actually lead to less differentiation, effectiveness or efficiency. How can a business know when an organizational … Read more
What do you do when an aspect of your business doesn’t go as planned or in the way you had hoped? As executives, we’ve all experienced this. What does it take to properly diagnose the issue and ultimately develop a solution? Where do you start in order to get back on track? Most of the time, we jump to the … Read more
Ever been a part of an organizational transformation effort that just seemed like a long walk uphill in the rain? Too many organizations are undertaking more and more organization transformation efforts that are supposed to significantly change the organization’s ability to compete and deliver value. Yet, in reality, many of these efforts lead to missed deadlines, cost overruns, unclear or … Read more