Wiring the Winning Organization with Gene Kim

A newsletter that started as a personal learning and getting-in-touch project by Ivan Krnic grew into a sociotechnical newsletter covering topics of technical excellence, organizational improvements, and productivity.

✨ “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us.”
–Sir Winston Churchill

We naturally look for organizational improvements close to the problem, i.e., within teams. Sadly, we often overlook the influence of the broader organization.

This organizational influence might be less apparent in smaller organizations and small projects. But, as the organization grows and its endeavors become larger, the influence that the organization exerts on teams becomes more significant.

Successful organizations have well-designed communication channels that detect problems on time (Amplification), are skilled at breaking down problems (Simplification), and create a focused problem-solving environment (Slowification). They set their teams up for success!

Less successful organizations fail to recognize problems promptly. Consequently, when problems arise, organizations are caught by surprise and forced to solve them hastily and ill-prepared.

Sir Winston Churchill said, “We shape our buildings; thereafter, they shape us.” The same holds for organizations. The way we set them up determines how we will work within them. Gene Kim and Dr. Steven Spear show us how to rewire our organizations so that a focus on learning and problem-solving becomes the norm.

Don’t miss my conversation with Gene.

Decoding the DNA of the Toyota Production System – The most read HBR article by Steven Spear and H. Kent Bowen describes four rules that permeate everything Toyota does and what makes them different..

Developer Productivity Engineering at Netflix – “Not every team can be a Netflix, but learning about how they do developer productivity engineering may help your team anyway.” by Jennifer Riggins.

Wait, is cloud bad? – Forrest Brazeal shares his opinion on a recent “cloud vs on-prem” discussion initiated by several tech giants posting their stories of cloud repatriation.

Analyzing what successful organizations do differently, the authors reveal three mechanisms that take an organization from a “danger zone” where reactive firefighting happens to a “winning zone” where teams are well-prepared for problem-solving.

Case studies show these mechanisms work across industries, geographies, and even times.