Results of one-variable organization designs (overdoing top priority).

  • Autonomy-only designs see components’ needs dominating the whole.
  • Control-only designs focus only on hierarchy, with power only at the top.
  • Cooperation-only designs are ineffective: structure matters.

Two-variable designs may be better but still have major blindspots.rK1 The Spotify model fails for valuing only autonomy.


  1. Robert W Keidel, Seeing Organizational Patterns: A New Theory and Language of Organizational Design (Washington, D.C.: Beard Books, 2005). (See notes.)