786: The Problem with Reorgs and How to Do Better, with Phil Le-Brun

Phil Le-Brun: The Octopus Organization

Phil Le-Brun is an executive in residence at Amazon Web Services and a former corporate VP and international CIO at the McDonald’s Corporation. He is a sought-after speaker and has been featured in Harvard Business Review, The Wall Street Journal, and The Guardian. He is the co-author with Jana Werner of The Octopus Organization: A Guide to Thriving in a World of Continuous Transformation (Amazon, Bookshop)*.

Most of us have gone through some version of a reorg. A lot of leaders have also implemented their own reorgs. Sometimes they work. Many times, they don’t. In this conversation, Phil and I discuss what goes wrong with reorgs and how we can do better.

Key Points

• Organizations traditionally looked like the tin man from The Wizard of Oz: perfectly planned, many interchangeable parts, not flexible.
• An octopus organization adapts, works independently to serve the larger whole, and is innately curious.
• A reorg that starts with an org chart misses the complex organic connections you are unlikely to fully understand.
• Prioritize structural stability while building internal flexibility.
• Nurture the complex informal human networks that deliver value.
• Be honest about objectives and communicate a reorg early.
• Engage people by starting with smaller-scale change. Clarify the problem to be solved instead of the structural “answer.”

Resources Mentioned

• The Octopus Organization: A Guide to Thriving in a World of Continuous Transformation by Phil Le-Brun and Jana Werner (Amazon, Bookshop)*

Interview Notes

Download my interview notes in PDF format (free membership required).

Related Episodes

• How to Get the Ideal Team Player, with Patrick Lencioni (episode 301)
• How to Approach a Reorg, with Claire Hughes Johnson (episode 621)
• How to Help Employees Handle Tough Moments, with Anthony Klotz (episode 777)

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