From Operations to Projects: The New Model for Change

By Jeff Su

Categories: Product, Startup

Summary

Transformation efforts often fail because companies use operating models designed for stability, not change. The solution? Becoming project-driven by reorganizing around strategic initiatives, dedicating top talent, and delivering in 3-6 month cycles.

Key Takeaways

1. Make it okay to experiment, fail, and quickly start/stop projects by building teams around strategic initiatives, not org charts.
2. Choose fewer but more ambitious initiatives and have leaders spend more time supporting transformations over day-to-day operations.
3. Dedicate top talent fully to the most important projects, not just squeezing them in alongside regular duties.
4. Leverage operations, finance, HR, IT, and legal to help projects move faster and deliver progress in 3-6 month cycles.
5. Organize the company around projects, not trying to fit projects into an old operating model.
6. Let project teams make most decisions without waiting weeks for approval to increase speed and experimentation.

Topics

• Organizational Transformation
• Change Management
• Project Management
• Strategic Initiatives
• Agile Execution

Transcript Excerpt

Most transformation efforts fail for a simple reason. Companies try to execute change using operating models designed for stability, not transformation. They optimize for efficiency and control even when the work requires speed, experimentation, and learning. The hardest work leaders face today isn't keeping things running. It's building what comes next. This work has a start and an end. It cuts across silos and you're figuring out as you go. It can't be handled through routine roles. It has to ...