4-lenses-on-orgs-ama-2025.pdf

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FOUR LENSES ON ORGANISATIONS

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PROLOGUE

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“ESSENTIALLY, ALL MODELS ARE WRONG BUT SOME ARE USEFUL” George E.P . Box, Empirical Model-Building and Response Surfaces

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LENS 1 TEAM TOPOLOGIES & VALUE STREAM MANAGEMENT

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Suzanne Kaiser, https://www.infoq.com/articles/adaptive-socio-technical-systems- fl ow/ (2023)

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VALUE STREAMS SOCIO-TECHNICAL SYSTEMS

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“VALUE STREAMS ARE MADE OF PEOPLE” Liz Keogh, https://lizkeogh.com/value-streams-are-made-of-people/ (2013)

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Liz Keogh, https://lizkeogh.com/value-streams-are-made-of-people/ (2013)

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John Cutler, https://www.linkedin.com/posts/johnpcutler_im-working-on-an-addition-to-this-thought- activity-7301284507452612608-2Qm5 (2025)

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+ Test M onitor B uild Co de Plan Ope rate D eploy Release = Test O pportunity B uild Des ign Plan Obs erve Op erate Release

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OPERATIONAL VALUE STREAM VS DEVELOPMENT VALUE STREAM

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OPERATIONAL AND DEVELOPMENT VALUE STREAM = YOU RUN IT, YOU BUILD IT

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John Cutler, https://www.linkedin.com/posts/johnpcutler_im-working-on-an-addition-to-this-thought- activity-7301284507452612608-2Qm5 (2025) “1. THERE’S A LOT TO THE LEFT OF OPPORTUNITY SELECTION 2. THERE'S A LOT TO THE RIGHT OF RUN 3. THE LINEAR NATURE OF THIS WAS HELPFUL BUT VERY INCOMPLETE (AREAS I’M EXPLORING: PACE LAYERS, NETWORKS, ETC.) 4. IT DOESN’T TOUCH PLATFORM AND ENABLING TEAMS... VERY IMPORTANT 5. IT DOESN’T TOUCH DEPENDENCIES THE ORIGINAL TOOK ME HALF AN HOUR, AT MOST. I KEEP SEEING PEOPLE REFERENCE IT, BUT THERE IS SO MUCH I LEFT OUT (WHICH PROBABLY MADE IT ‘WRONG, BUT HELPFUL’).”

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“THE VALUE STREAM IN THE PRODUCTION OF PHYSICAL GOODS IS OPTIMISED TO PRODUCE THE SAME PHYSICAL THING MANY TIMES. THE VALUE STREAM IN THE PRODUCTION OF SOFTWARE ONLY EVER PRODUCES A THING ONCE!” Chris Matts, https://theitriskmanager.com/2024/11/09/value-streams-and-the-failureship/ (2024)

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Chris Matts, https://theitriskmanager.com/2024/11/09/value-streams-and-the-failureship/ (2024)

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OPERATIONAL AND DEVELOPMENT VALUE STREAM CENTRE = YOU RUN IT, YOU BUILD IT

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Chris Matts, https://theitriskmanager.com/2024/11/09/value-streams-and-the-failureship/ (2024) TEAMS & TEAMS-OF-TEAMS = VALUE CENTRES INITIATIVES = VALUE STREAMS

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“TEAM TOPOLOGIES IS WRONG: COMPLEX ORGANIZATIONS CANNOT BE SIMPLY BROKEN DOWN INTO JUST FOUR KINDS OF TEAMS AND THREE KINDS OF INTERACTIONS. BUT CONSTRAINTS LIKE THIS ARE WHAT MAKES A MODEL USEFUL” Martin Fowler, https://martinfowler.com/bliki/TeamTopologies.html (2023)

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Suzanne Kaiser, https://www.infoq.com/articles/adaptive-socio-technical-systems- fl ow/ (2023)

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LENS 2 NESTED & NETWORKED VALUE & MODULAR ORGANISATIONS

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Jonathan Smart, with Zsolt Berend, Myles Ogilvie, & Simon Rohrer, Sooner Safer Happier (2020) BANK INVESTMENT BANK GLOBAL MARKETS EQUITIES LISTED DERIVATIVES CASH EQUITIES HUMAN RESOURCES RECRUITMENT VALUE CENTRE VALUE CENTRE VALUE CENTRE VALUE CENTRE VALUE CENTRE VALUE CENTRE SHARED SERVICE VALUE CENTRE SHARED SERVICE VALUE CENTRE

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NESTED VALUE MODULARITY & HIERARCHY

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“IF YOU WANT TO HIRE GREAT PEOPLE AND HAVE THEM STAY, YOU HAVE TO BE RUN BY IDEAS NOT HIERARCHY. THE BEST IDEAS HAVE TO WIN” Steve Jobs, Interview with Walt Mossberg & Kara Swisher (2010)

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LEVEL 0: AN IDEAL 2- PIZZA STREAM- ALIGNED TEAM Value 2 pizza team -

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Value 2 pizza team -

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LEVEL 1: AN IDEAL TEAM-OF- TEAMS Value Team-of-teams Dunbar number - <150 System-of-systems & domain that fits inside the team’s head “Tribe” Nested value Self-organizing? Nested DDD Shared data model? Eventually consistent Each component independently deployable & testable OKRs looking forward (Dev) KPIs & OLIs right now & looking back (Ops) Outcomes, hypotheses, bets User stories, tasks, changes, problems, incidents Value Team-of-teams Dunbar number - <150 System-of-systems & domain that fits inside the team’s head “Tribe” Nested value Self-organizing? Nested DDD Shared data model? Eventually consistent Each component independently deployable & testable OKRs looking forward (Dev) KPIs & OLIs right now & looking back (Ops) Outcomes, hypotheses, bets User stories, tasks, changes, problems, incidents Value Team-of-teams Dunbar number - <150 System-of-systems & domain that fits inside the team’s head “Tribe” Nested value Self-organizing? Nested DDD Shared data model? Eventually consistent Each component independently deployable & testable OKRs looking forward (Dev) KPIs & OLIs right now & looking back (Ops) Outcomes, hypotheses, bets User stories, tasks, changes, problems, incidents Value Team-of-teams Dunbar number - <150 System-of-systems & domain that fits inside the team’s head “Tribe” Nested value Self-organizing? Nested DDD Shared data model? Eventually consistent Each component independently deployable & testable OKRs looking forward (Dev) KPIs & OLIs right now & looking back (Ops) Outcomes, hypotheses, bets User stories, tasks, changes, problems, incidents

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VALUE OUTCOME LEAD TEAM OUTCOME LEAD ARCHITECTURE OUTCOME LEAD

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Eduardo da Silva, Architecture Topologies (2021)

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LEVEL 2: AN IDEAL BUSINESS LINE OKRs looking forward (Dev) KPIs & OLIs right now & looking back (Ops) Value Team-of-team-of-teams 1000–2000 System-of-system-of-systems Does this fit in anyone’s head? Department / business line Nested value Self-organizing??? Further nested DDD Minimally shared data model - just keys? Eventually consistent between subdomains Key paths and failure modes should be known OKRs looking forward (Dev) KPIs & OLIs right now & looking back (Ops) OKRs looking forward (Dev) KPIs & OLIs right now & looking back (Ops) Value Team-of-team-of-teams 1000–2000 System-of-system-of-systems Does this fit in anyone’s head? Department / business line Nested value Self-organizing??? Further nested DDD Minimally shared data model - just keys? Eventually consistent between subdomains Key paths and failure modes should be known OKRs looking forward (Dev) KPIs & OLIs right now & looking back (Ops) OKRs looking forward (Dev) KPIs & OLIs right now & looking back (Ops) Value Team-of-team-of-teams 1000–2000 System-of-system-of-systems Does this fit in anyone’s head? Department / business line Nested value Self-organizing??? Further nested DDD Minimally shared data model - just keys? Eventually consistent between subdomains Key paths and failure modes should be known OKRs looking forward (Dev) KPIs & OLIs right now & looking back (Ops) OKRs looking forward (Dev) KPIs & OLIs right now & looking back (Ops) Value Team-of-team-of-teams 1000–2000 System-of-system-of-systems Does this fit in anyone’s head? Department / business line Nested value Self-organizing??? Further nested DDD Minimally shared data model - just keys? Eventually consistent between subdomains Key paths and failure modes should be known OKRs looking forward (Dev) KPIs & OLIs right now & looking back (Ops) Systems of Systems of Systems

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BANK INVESTMENT BANK GLOBAL MARKETS EQUITIES LISTED DERIVATIVES CASH EQUITIES HUMAN RESOURCES RECRUITMENT VALUE CENTRE VALUE CENTRE VALUE CENTRE VALUE CENTRE VALUE CENTRE VALUE CENTRE SHARED SERVICE VALUE CENTRE SHARED SERVICE VALUE CENTRE

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“IMPACTFUL DESIGN DECISIONS ARE TYPICALLY MADE WELL ABOVE THE LEVEL OF PRODUCT TEAMS” Charles Lambdin, https://thelaterallens.substack.com/p/why-agile-is- losing-steam (2025) BANK INVESTMENT BANK GLOBAL MARKETS EQUITIES LISTED DERIVATIVES CASH EQUITIES HUMAN RESOURCES RECRUITMENT VALUE CENTRE VALUE CENTRE VALUE CENTRE VALUE CENTRE VALUE CENTRE VALUE CENTRE SHARED SERVICE VALUE CENTRE SHARED SERVICE VALUE CENTRE

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“ALTHOUGH ORGANIZATIONS OSTENSIBLY DESIGN PRODUCTS, IT CAN ALSO BE ARGUED THAT PRODUCTS DESIGN ORGANIZATIONS” Ron Sanchez & Joseph T. Mahoney: Modularity, Flexibility, and Knowledge Management in Product and Organization Design (1996)

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“HIERARCHY IS ABSOLUTELY CRITICAL TO THE ADAPTABILITY, RESILIENCY, AND SCALABILITY OF COMPLEX SYSTEMS” Charity Majors, Questionable Advice: “My Boss Says We Don’t Need Any Engineering Managers. Is He Right?” (2024)

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“…PEOPLE SITTING AROUND DRINKING BAD COFFEE IN ROOMS WITH WHITEBOARDS… UNIRONICALLY DOING ALL THE THINGS THAT PEOPLE LIKE TO LAUGH AT MIDDLE MANAGERS FOR. BUT THESE ARE ACTUALLY VITAL ACTIVITIES FOR MAINTAINING LONG- TERM ORGANISATIONAL COHERENCE” Dan Davies, https://www.ft.com/content/b6a0cfd7-690a-445a- adfb-920855b547cb (2025)

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THE MUCH MALIGNED MIDDLE MANAGER

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SKYSCRAPER & ELEVATOR

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“MEDIATING AND RATIFYING HIERARCHIES ARE THE REALITY OF MOST SUCCESSFUL BUSINESSES” John Kay, The Corporation In The 21st Century: Why (Almost) Everything We Are Told About Business Is Wrong (2024)

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HOLONS & HOLARCHY

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THE PARABLE OF THE TWO WATCHMAKERS Herbert Simon, The Architecture of Complexity (1962) HORA TEMPUS

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LEADERS AT ALL LEVELS

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GOOD HIERARCHY BAD HIERARCHY THEORY Y THEORY X MODULAR HIERARCHY COMMAND & CONTROL MISSION COMMAND POWER HIERARCHY LEADER-LEADER LEADER-FOLLOWER LEADERS AT ALL LEVELS LEADERSHIP VS WORKERS ALIGNMENT AUTHORITY CONTEXT DRIVEN HIERARCHY

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LENS 3 THE VIABLE SYSTEM MODEL & THE FRACTAL ORGANISATION

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STAFFORD BEER (1926 – 2002)

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THE ENVIRONMENT DOING THE WORK THREE ELEMENTS OF AN ORGANISATION MANAGING THE WORK

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THE ENVIRONMENT DOING THE WORK MANAGING THE WORK

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W. ROSS ASHBY’S LAW OF REQUISITE VARIETY ONLY VARIETY CAN ABSORB VARIETY

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VARIETY (MANAGING THE WORK) VARIETY (DOING THE WORK) > > VARIETY (ENVIRONMENT)

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VARIETY ENGINEERING 1: ATTENUATION & AMPLIFICATION FEEDBACK LOOPS MODELS

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MANAGING THE WORK ENVIRONMENT MODEL MODEL MODEL VARIETY AMPLIFICATION VARIETY AMPLIFICATION VARIETY AMPLIFICATION VARIETY ATTENUATION VARIETY ATTENUATION VARIETY ATTENUATION DOING THE WORK

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VARIETY ENGINEERING 2: UNFOLDING

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VIABILITY ENGINEERING VIABILITY = INTERNAL STABILITY + ADAPTABILITY = TRADE-OFFS

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3 “SYSTEMS” TO MANAGE INTERNAL STABILITY: •COORDINATION

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3 “SYSTEMS” TO MANAGE INTERNAL STABILITY: •COORDINATION •COHESION

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3 “SYSTEMS” TO MANAGE INTERNAL STABILITY: •COORDINATION •COHESION •MONITORING

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ANOTHER “SYSTEM” TO MANAGE ADAPTABILITY AN EXTERNAL EYE

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A FINAL “SYSTEM” TO BALANCE TRADE-OFFS SETTING A COHERENT SCOPE & IDENTITY

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ALL “SYSTEMS” AT ALL LEVELS, INTER- CONNECTED THROUGH INFORMATION AND DECISIONS

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5 4 3 3* 2 1 POLICY INTELLIGENCE COHESION MONITORING COORDINATION IMPLEMENTATION Patrick Hoverstadt, Modelling Organisations Using the Viable System Model (2002) 1c 1b 1a 2 3 3* 4 5

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5 4 3 3* 2 1 CLOSURE · POLICY · IDENTITY · ULTIMATE AUTHORITY ENVIRONMENTAL SCANNING · STRATEGY · PLANNING · INNOVATION OVERVIEW OF ENTIRE OPERATION · OPTIMISATION · SYNERGY · IMPOSITION OF POLICY WHEN NECESSARY RESOLUTION OF CONFLICT · STABILITY · KEEPING THE PEACE THE ENTIRE OPERATION Jon Walker & Angela Espinosa, VSM: Introduction (2011) 1c 1b 1a 2 3 3* 4 5

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5 4 3 3* 2 1 IDENTITY · PHILOSOPHY · GOVERNANCE · POLICY · SCOPE · PURPOSE FUTURE · CHANGING · DISCOVERING · INTELLIGENCE · STRATEGY · OUTSIDE PRESENT · RUNNING · DELIVERING · INSIDE · OPTIMISING · INTEGRATING · COHESION MONITORING · AUDITING · SURVEYING · GEMBA COORDINATING · SUPPORTING · STABILISING VALUE OPERATION · BIZ-DEV-PROD-OPS Simon Rohrer, Four Lenses on Organisations (2025) 1c 1b 1a 2 3 3* 4 5

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5 4 3 3* 2 1 SELF-GOVERNING STRATEGISING ORGANISING CONTEXTUALISING COORDINATING THE VALUE-CREATING WORK Mike Burrows, Wholehearted: Engaging with Complexity in the Deliberately Adaptive Organisation (2025) 1c 1b 1a 2 3 3* 4 5

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SYSTEM 5 = ‘THE WHY OF PURPOSE’ SYSTEM 4 = ‘THE WHY OF MOVEMENT’

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MANAGERS = BRAIN VS DO-ERS = MUSCLES

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Test O pp. select B uild Des ign Req Plan Tra ck Op erate Release Ground level - a self managing team Participating in management activities Participating in value-creating work activities

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Zoom out – managing across teams Participating in management activities Participating in management activities?

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LEADERS AT ALL LEVELS

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COHERENCE AND AUTONOMY

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GOVERNANCE GUBERNATOR  KYBERNETES CYBERNETICS → HELMSMAN

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“MY VIEW IS THAT VSM IS TOO INSTRUMENTAL AND OVER-FOCUSED ON DESIGN WITH INSUFFICIENT ATTENTION TO GENERATING INFORMAL NETWORKS” Dave Snowden, https://thecyne fi n.co/naturalising-narrated (2021)

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LENS 4 THE LIQUID ORGANISATION

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Source: https://integrationtraining.co.uk/

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SETS POLICY THAT AFFECTS MENTORS LEADS COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE

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ICE VS WATER

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FROZEN E.G. BANKS LIQUID = DESIRED GASEOUS E.G. CHAOTIC STARTUPS

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Dave Snowden, https://thecyne fi n.co/cyne fi n-st-davids-day-2021-1-of-3/ (2021) “…THREE BASIC TYPES OF SYSTEM, OR ONTOLOGY NAMELY ORDERED, COMPLEX AND CHAOTIC AND I USE THE METAPHOR OF SOLID, LIQUID, AND GAS TO HELP PEOPLE UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE”

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“THE WORLD THEY FACE IS A PARADOX: INTERTWINED ORDER AND DISORDER. …[MANAGERS] ALMOST ALWAYS APPROACH THE TASK FROM THE PERSPECTIVE OF ORDER AND LARGELY IGNORE THE ROLE OF DISORDER.” Ralph Stacey, Managing the Unknowable: Strategic Boundaries Between Order and Chaos in Organisations (1992)

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Xin Yao, Sociotechnical Design For Software And Human Systems(2024)

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UNFREEZE → CHANGE → REFREEZE LEWIN’S CHANGE MODEL Kurt Lewin, Field Theory In Social Science (1947)

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https://hbr.org/2024/06/a-new-model-for-continuous-transformation “BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION CAN NO LONGER BE TREATED AS A ONE- TIME PROJECT. CONTINUOUS CHANGE NECESSITATES ONGOING TRANSFORMATION”

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UNFREEZE → CHANGE → REFREEZE

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COHERENCE COHERENCE + AUTONOMY AUTONOMY

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SOLID LIQUID GAS

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SOLID ↓ THAW ↓ LIQUID ↑ ORGANISE ↑ GAS

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SOLID GAS LIQUID THAW ORGANISE

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SOLID ↑ FREEZE ↑ LIQUID ↓ EVAPORATE ↓ GAS

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SOLID ↑ DEPOSITION ↑ ↓ SUBLIMATION ↓ GAS

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Overly bureaucratic, Strict hierarchies Low motivation, engagement Low adaptability Decline in competitiveness Lack of innovation Siloed, slow ﬂow Learning culture High motivation & engagement High alignment High autonomy Enabling constraints Self-organising Continuous innovation High performance Misalignment No clear direction High ineﬃciency No constraints Poor communication Declining performance High levels of confusion Low morale & engagement Low entropy zone Optimal entropy zone (agility) High entropy zone GAS SOLID LIQUID Melting Evaporation Condensation Freezing

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“TOO MANY EXECS TRY TO FIX BROKEN ORGANISATIONS BY FIDDLING WITH STRUCTURE. START BY FIXING PRINCIPLES AND THEN LET THE STRUCTURE EMERGE FROM THAT. STOP TRYING TO FIX BROKEN PRINCIPLES BY USING A RE-ORGANISATION. I’VE NEVER SEEN THAT WORK.” Simon Wardley, https://nitter.net/swardley/status/1507280830246404116 (2022)

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TARGET OPERATING MODEL CURRENT OPERATING MODEL

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GASEOUS ORG CHAOTIC? AD HOC FEW CONSTRAINTS NO BUREAUCRACY ANARCHY THEORY ¯\_(ツ)_/ ANYTHING GOES AD HOC MANAGEMENT LIQUID ORG UNDERSTAND COMPLEXITY UNCERTAINTY MINDSET GOVERNING + ENABLING GOOD BUREAUCRACY GOOD HIERARCHY THEORY Y DESIGN FOR CONSTANT EVOLUTION BALANCED MGMT WITHIN + ACROSS FROZEN ORG ASSUME SIMPLE OR COMPLICATED ASSUME KNOWABLE GOVERNING CONSTRAINTS BAD BUREAUCRACY BAD HIERARCHY THEORY X UNFREEZE → CHANGE → REFREEZE DOMINANT MANAGEMENT OUTWITH NOT ENOUGH COHERENCE TOO MUCH COHERENCE

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THANK YOU! https://linkedin.com/in/simonrohrer