AA183 - The People vs. The Ivory Tower: Challenging Centralized Corporate Structures

Arguing Agile

In this episode, Product Manager Brian Orlando and Enterprise Business Agility Coach Om Patel put the controversial topic of centralized corporate structures (aka. the Ivory Tower) on trial.
Listen or watch as the hosts explore the pros and cons, including:

• The pitfalls of consolidating specialized roles into "ivory towers"
• How centralization affects team autonomy and decision-making
• How to measure effectiveness of centralization
• The importance of aligning with business goals and maintaining accountability
• Alternatives to traditional hierarchical structures

#BusinessAgility #TeamAutonomy #OrganizationalDesign #ProductManagement #Leadership #ConwaysLaw #ServiceManagement
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Разделы

1. Podcast Intro (00:00:00)

2. Intro: The People vs the Ivory Tower (00:00:11)

3. Ivory Tower - Economies of Scale (00:01:43)

4. Impact of Choices (00:03:39)

5. Ivory Tower - Standardization (00:05:40)

6. PMO Example (00:08:05)

7. Failures of Scaling (00:09:38)

8. Can't Measure It? Must Not Be Valuable! (00:10:54)

9. Ivory Tower - Centralized Specialization (00:13:34)

10. Om's Travel Agent Story (00:16:36)

11. When the Centralized Travel Model Fails (00:20:20)

12. The People - Business Goals (00:20:57)

13. Power Dynamics in the Ivory Tower (00:21:39)

14. Don't Play Games (00:24:03)

15. The People - Accountability, Not Blame (00:26:30)

16. The People - Teams Retaining Learnings (00:29:17)

17. The B-Squad (00:32:22)

18. Conway's Law and Organizational Structure (00:33:25)

19. Alternatives to the Ivory Tower (00:34:38)

20. Service Management and Metrics (00:36:43)

21. The Jury is Out (00:39:15)

22. Wrap-Up (00:39:48)