What would you point to as a company that has appropriately built “slack” into its infrastructure to achieve the growth path you recommend? And how can companies differentiate between stress that will be net productive vs that which is net negative in real time? I agree with a lot of what you’re saying in principal, but the difficulty in identifying when an org is in a change/fatigue cycle (versus a change/growth cycle) is a real issue.
Thanks for the comment and thoughts. One example might be Basecamp's Shape Up where every six-week cycle is followed by a two-week cool-down where teams fix bugs, document, explore ideas, and reset context before the next push. This allows changes in process, org structure, initiatives, etc. time to settle and teams to reset.
One place the line between pushing too hard and not hard enough might show up is in recovery. If teams come out of a push clearer, calmer, and better prepared for the next cycle, the stress was productive. If each cycle leaves more unfinished cleanup, mounting anxiety, longer time-to-stability, etc. you’re probably pushing change too quickly.
Awesome post. I am just rolling out of the President role at The Muse and we felt this weight daily. AI is completely reshaping the HR Tech industry, faster than most out there and it was a constant race to keep up. You put into words what we felt daily.
What would you point to as a company that has appropriately built “slack” into its infrastructure to achieve the growth path you recommend? And how can companies differentiate between stress that will be net productive vs that which is net negative in real time? I agree with a lot of what you’re saying in principal, but the difficulty in identifying when an org is in a change/fatigue cycle (versus a change/growth cycle) is a real issue.
Thanks for the comment and thoughts. One example might be Basecamp's Shape Up where every six-week cycle is followed by a two-week cool-down where teams fix bugs, document, explore ideas, and reset context before the next push. This allows changes in process, org structure, initiatives, etc. time to settle and teams to reset.
One place the line between pushing too hard and not hard enough might show up is in recovery. If teams come out of a push clearer, calmer, and better prepared for the next cycle, the stress was productive. If each cycle leaves more unfinished cleanup, mounting anxiety, longer time-to-stability, etc. you’re probably pushing change too quickly.
Thank you, and great food for thought about how to build that into the sprint cycle.
Awesome post. I am just rolling out of the President role at The Muse and we felt this weight daily. AI is completely reshaping the HR Tech industry, faster than most out there and it was a constant race to keep up. You put into words what we felt daily.