Research and Insights from the Center for Effective Organizations
Last updated November 5, 2025 As businesses continue to navigate the ever-evolving challenges of today’s dynamic landscape, we want to remind you of the valuable resources available to support you and your organization. The shift to remote and hybrid work models, the...
AI is going – and has already started – to transform how work is done within organizations. Anywhere people are asked to weigh in on decisions has the potential to be disrupted by AI. And in these early days, it’s really hard to say for certain what the limitations of AI will be in most cases.
Organizations often give catchy names to transformation initiatives to create focus and signal their importance, but this practice can unintentionally reinforce the idea that change is temporary, leading to disillusionment and cynicism when further changes arise. Instead, aligning efforts with ongoing strategies and framing them as part of a continuous process, like “LRP Activation,” fosters clarity, engagement, and a culture where change becomes a normal and accepted part of organizational life.
This article is the third in a three-part series on applying systems diagnostics to understand the sources of organizational underperformance (Using systems diagnostics to drive process improvement and change), why transformations often fail to deliver (Designing transformations to avoid failure), and how to keep transformations from going off course (this one). It is based in part on my Strategic Analytics book. The issues addressed in the series will be covered in depth in the upcoming workshop Driving Organizational Change with Data.
This article is the second in a three-part series on applying systems diagnostics to understand the sources of organizational underperformance (Using systems diagnostics to drive process improvement and change), why transformations often fail to deliver (this one), and how to keep transformations from going off course (Diagnosing and adjusting transformations to ensure success)). It is based in part on my Strategic Analytics book. The issues addressed in the series will be covered in depth in the upcoming virtual workshop Driving Organizational Change with Data.
This article is the first in a two-part series on applying systems diagnostics to understand the sources of organizational underperformance (this article) and why transformations often fail to deliver (next article). It is based in part on Alec Levenson’s Strategic Analytics book. The issues addressed in the series will be covered in depth in the upcoming virtual workshop Driving Organizational Change with Data.
This SIOP White Paper Series examines the workplace that is being transformed by advancements in AI, emerging technologies, and changing cultural landscapes, reshaping organizational operations and employee interactions. In response, human resources teams have become more sophisticated and influential, leveraging expertise and data to enhance organizational effectiveness and gain a competitive edge.
Join us to learn how data and diagnostics can be leveraged to facilitate strategic change across all layers of your organization, ensuring a cohesive and scalable transformation.
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Executing a (new) strategy means two things. You have to build new capability required for the strategy. And the organization has to change from the old capability to the new. Capability building and change. Simple enough, and easy to say. So why do most strategy executions fail?
The increasing pace of work transformation is evident in the surge of gig work, demands for increased work flexibility, the institutionalization of remote/hybrid work accelerated by the pandemic, and the increasing integration of robots and Generative AI with human workers. It should come as no surprise that the number of resumes mentioning the “Future of Work” has surged over the last decade, with a slight decline recently, possibly due to layoffs and changing priorities.
Proposal of a pivot in how HR is structured and works to focus more directly on the capabilities required for successful strategy execution.
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September 26, 2023
With Alec Levenson and Carl Watson
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