In this disruptive age, the organizational structures we know and love are just a tick tock away from blowing up! In February 2005, there was an article in the Harvard Business Review suggesting that global organizations need to become “Velcro organizations.” That is, organizations that can quickly and easily rearrange their roles to meet the challenges of specific tasks.
Some organizations have such rigid structures that real work can’t get accomplished. These organizations don’t have the flexibility to pull the right team together to tackle the job and then return to their previous jobs upon its completion. I consider these organizations to be “Cement Organizations”; they’ve poured a hard foundation that is full of cracks, but they aren’t budging.
Are you part of a Velcro organization or are you part of a Cement organization?