Economist The - Guide to Organisation Design : Creating high-performing and adaptable enterprises.

I CAME TO write this book to answer the many repeated questions that people have about the constant reorganisations and restructurings that they willingly or unwillingly participate in during the course of their working life.

I currently work with both the initiators of these reorganisations and the people whose working lives are changed as a result of them. Both parties have similar concerns:

How do I know that the reorganisation is really necessary?

Is there any evidence suggesting that it is good to change things per se, or does it always depend on the specific change?

How do you know if organisation redesign has worked?

Is there any hard evidence about the absolute pros and cons of different structures?

Is there a step-by-step guide I could follow?

In my previous work, as an employee of several large multinational companies, over time I too had to reapply for my job, was laid off, had five new managers in the course of six-months, was relocated, had to lay off staff myself, and so on all as a result of various reorganisations. But during these experiences I also worked with the changes and helped people approach restructuring not with dread but with a certain sense of excitement and energy.

From these experiences I learned to think of organisations both in the more traditional way as whole systems that are inevitably shifting and responding as their context changes, and in the newer way as complex adaptive organisms evolving in order to survive. With these perspectives I discovered that there is a lot more to reorganisation than tinkering with the chart that represents the structure.

To answer the types of questions listed above (that I too had asked), I looked at all the components that contribute to organisational performance and found that organisational performance is more likely to improve if leaders and managers take a wider perspective than simply focusing on the structure: there is less rework, people are happier with the outcomes and it makes it easier to align all the organisational elements.

I also recognised that organisational alignment is always temporary, because things change. The design has to be adaptable; it must evolve and it must take into account the interests and views of all those with a stake in the business.

Lou Gerstner (former CEO at IBM ) spoke well when congratulating his staff:

In my eyes you stand tall. You did all this the milestones passed, the victories just ahead, and those far down the road. Thank you. Take a bow. Youve earned it. And, of course, I cant resist: lets all get right back to work because weve just begun!

As it is with milestones passed so it is with organisation design. One design gives way to the next. This book guides you along the path not the straight and narrow path of restructuring, but the interesting and much more productive path of organisation design. It is written for leaders and managers looking for practical advice on tackling the business performance issues that face them. Each chapter has information about the topic in hand, illustrative examples from organisations, a case study, and some practical and immediately usable tools. Note that all the examples given in this book report the situation as it was at that moment in time, and they are only partial: they serve as illustrations of points, not as enduring truths about any specific organisation. The case studies are all disguised and somewhat fictionalised examples of organisations I have worked with. The tools are all ones I find helpful and use regularly. I hope as you look through and read the book you will find hints, tips and approaches that you can apply to good result in your organisation.

Naomi Stanford

April 2007