By Billy Bennett

There is an interesting discussion going on at the Harvard Business Review on this topic "THE FUTURE OF TALENT IS CLUSTERS".  The idea posed is that we should hire "clusters" (aka teams) instead of individuals.  Or at least considering it.  To me it is an "everything old is new again" conversation.  ...And that is a very good thing. 

In the 90's we gained much from an intense period of study on teams.  When I say "we" I mean those of us fascinated about advancing knowledge about group work and dynamics.  However, we lost the way a bit. 

We lost momentum when other forms of collaboration were seen as equal to the power of the autonomous and self managing team as perhaps one of the most important units of work design.  I'm not sure that's the case. In fact, I am certain of it.   However, the HBR article is an example where the opportunity to learn is again coming to the forefront.

If you think this is unusual - hiring a "cluster" or team as an intact unit - I have seen it. We worked with a client who designed one of the most successful  autonomous team workplaces to date.  They were written about in journals and feted at three national conferences.  However, when the client decided to build a new,  more automated facility too far away for team members to relocate, the company worked with local businesses to find the team members new employment.  Here is where I witnessed a first for me (and I think maybe a first in modern era business)... the reputation of the teams were so great and impressive in the region that some of the teams were hired as "intact" teams.  They were asked by their new employers to bring the skills and capabilities to the new job.  I lost track of what happened to the team members, but they certainly learned team skills at the most advanced level I had seen before - or since.   They had developed an ability to go into any situation and begin assessing how they could make things work better and how they could be successful doing the work.  What business could not use that?

Have you ever seen a work group so impressive that others wanted to hire them away - intact?  That was the ultimate praise.

How are you approaching organization design?  How much of org design is about "org charts"?  How much of it is about moving boxes and changing layers?  How boring.  And how wrong.

I just read an interesting post by Eugene Borukhovich entitled  The Future of Healthcare Design is Already Here.  Design - especially organization design - is a passion of mine.  I have a bias.  I believe most organizations are designed by evolution - by happenstance - rather then purposeful design.  Eugene's article triggered a memory of the wonderful organization design work done when people purposefully create something that delivers a totally new and special experience for customers and users alike.  No place can use that kind of thinking more than in healthcare. 

I hope you use Eugene's article to you make you think about more than the  dashboard he shows.  I think Eugene would be disappointed if you did.  While Eugene's article is about visual design for us all as we engage with the healthcare system... it is also about the system.  Therefore it is also about the design of the organization within the system. 

The problem with most organization design processes is they often focus only on positions, boxes and layers.  This is often separate from thinking of how the customer of the system, and the people connecting with the system should experience the system.  In this case how should patients and professionals experience the #bigdata information in healthcare? 

Do you use tools to spark imagination?

The dashboard tool (created using Memolane)is just that a tool.  However, Eugene uses it to open up a three dimensional view of what the healthcare experience should be --could be like.  The System.  It allows dreaming.

I've participated in organization design processes where something less cool than this sparked a vision of systems working in a different way.  I will never forget the sugar cubes... or the beer glasses... or the single piece of data that were all used to redesign organization systems and therefore the structure and how people worked.  

If you are going to create organization designs that last and produce exceptional results - then you must re-think systems...you must re-think the experience...you must re-think results.

What are you using to spark imagination in your organization design?  Are you just shifting boxes and writing job descriptions?  Or are you sparking dreams of a new way of working?

I would love to hear...