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Work Matters S4E11: Ron Ashkenas - Simplifying Organizations
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In today's Work Matters, Thomas welcomes Ron Ashkenas, Principal at Ashkenas Consulting and Partner Emeritus at Schaffer Consulting, to discuss simplifying organizations. Ron is a thought leader in business change and transformation and the author of numerous books and HBR articles including "Simply Effective."
He unpacks the symptoms of overly complex organizations that show they are ripe for simplification. They include working harder and harder with little progress, difficulty and delay in reaching objectives, people-heavy processes, and ineffective meetings.
From there, Ron confides that the first step to simplification is admitting you have a complexity problem. He describes the four sources of organizational complexity - structure, behavior, processes, and product proliferation - and how best to address them.
Explaining the difference between good and bad complexity, Ron reveals the typical obstacles to simplifying an organization and shares strategies for overcoming each. He uses relevant examples from large-scale simplifications to demonstrate the benefits of undertaking the process for companies, leaders, and employees.
And lastly, Ron concludes by explaining what organizations can do to create a culture of simplification and imbed it into their DNA. He emphasizes that it is a process, not the goal, and one that should always support the business objectives of increased customer satisfaction, revenue, and employee engagement.
Link to "Simply Effective" on Amazon: https://a.co/d/aqlx6pp
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