🌿🧭🌳 OD99: Applied Systems Thinking
Video edition: curated resources on Strategy ∙ Org Design ∙ Org Development ∙ Adjacent fields
Starters
1 of 6 / Strategic Management Society: Strategy in Nascent Markets
In a nutshell: (58 min video) Prof. Kathleen Eisenhardt from Stanford University shares insights from her research about superior strategy in "high uncertainty, ambiguity and velocity" nascent markets in multiple industry contexts.
Quote: “(…) many entrepreneurs struggle to form winning strategies (and business models) because many rules of traditional strategy like differentiation don't work in nascent markets. Lean Startup helps but is often too simple. Instead time and timing are on center stage, cognition takes on fresh new meanings, and rich repertoires of learning and problem solving matter.”
Key idea:
Focus both on thinking and doing.
Thinking: Broad view of strategic playing field. 1. See the entire playing field: Pay attention, especially to substitutes; 2. Shape the playing field: Improve the "field" for own advantage; 3. Play the "correct" game: Know the relevant strategic moves.
Doing: Wide-ranging actions. 1. Repertoire of learning processes: Experimentation (in all its flavors), trial-and-error, passive, imitation, and bricolage; 2. Strategic timing: Go fast, slow down, press pause, and find rhythm; 3. "Right"problem-solving approach: Modular, integrated, or complex & novel - Organization of learning.
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2 of 6 / Henry Mintzberg: Organizational Structure Reflects Industry Age
Quote from 1 min video: “If you are a railroad company in 2023, you may very well be structured like the railroad companies have always been structured”.
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3 of 6 / Wharton School: Digital First Future of Work
In a nutshell: (26 min video) Christina Janzer, SVP of Research & Analytics at Slack, shares insights from the recent Future Forum Pulse survey of 10,000+ knowledge workers around the globe.
Highlights:
81% of employees want flexibility in where they work;
93% want flexibility in when they work;
Productivity scores for workers with full schedule flexibility are 39% higher than workers with none.
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4 of 6 / Wardley Maps: Wardley Mapping Strategy & Capabilities at BigCorp - A True Story
In a nutshell: (47 min video) Erik Schön, author of the Art of Strategy book, shares the successes and failures encountered when aligning a group of senior executives on strategy, using Wardley Mapping.
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5 of 6 / Gartner: The Art of the One-Page Strategy
In a nutshell: (9 min video) Gartner VP Analyst Heather Colella begins to explore how to develop a one-pager that expresses your organization's strategic direction and long-term focus.
Key idea: there are 5 story types for communicating strategy
“Stakeholder story: when you look at everybody who has a vested interest in your story and tell the story from their perspective;
Algorithm story: when your success is a function of multiple factors coming together;
Process story: looking at the end to end business process for those companies where operational efficiencies and effectiveness are critical;
Capability story: used to tell the story of what capabilities make your company successful;
Mission story: often used for public sector, government, non-profit organizations.”
Check the 1 hour webinar for examples of one-page strategies using the 5 story types, when and how to use them.
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6 of 6 / Catalyst 2030: Understanding How to Achieve Systems Level Change
In a nutshell: (1 hour video) Catalyst 2030 members have explored systems change approaches as a means to accelerate our collective efforts to achieve the SDGs.
Main
International Systems Thinking Conference 2023
We invite you to explore the videos from the conference organized by the Cornell University in May, with new empirical developments and advances in applying systems thinking across disciplines.
3 of our picks:
Dr. Iain Couzin - The geometry of decision making
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Organizational change and culture, philanthropy, and capacity building
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Dr. Derek Cabrera: Thinking fast & right in complex environments
Dessert
1 of 2 / Invicta: How was the Mongol army organized? (1 min)
2 of 2 / Professor Dave Explains: Scales of Ecology - Ecosystems (4 min)
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Bon appétit!
Curated by knowledge chefs Raluca and Bülent Duagi.
As the Sense & Change team, we’re working with Directors in 🇷🇴 Tech companies to make more impact with the limited resources they have at hand, by:
🧭 having a clear strategy that enables better and faster decision making;
🤝 organizing better to both run operations and implement strategy with the available bandwidth and budgets;
🚀 implementing strategic initiatives and programs in an efficient and effective manner, paying attention to the people side of change;
⚡️ intentionally developing proper internal capabilities that are sustainable in the long run.
We've been recently advising, mentoring and training leaders from:
· Adobe, DB Global Technology, Deloitte Digital, HP, IT Smart Systems, Orange, Orange Services, OTP Bank, Servier, Stockday and TotalSoft.