The Squad Model Failed
Everyone copied the Spotify model.
Squads. Tribes. Chapters. Guilds. The vocabulary spread through tech companies like a virus.
Here'
Three Companies, One Well
April 20, 2010. Deepwater Horizon.
Three companies were responsible for one well: BP, Transocean, and Halliburton.
When the well blew
Structure Changed Behavior
In Season 3 of The Wire, Major Bunny Colvin runs an experiment.
He designates abandoned areas as "free zones&
The Org Chart Ships
In 1967, computer scientist Melvin Conway made an observation.
Organizations design systems that mirror their communication structures.
Not metaphorically. Literally.
Two O'Clock Passed
May 10, 1996. Mount Everest.
Everyone knew the rule.
Turn around by 2pm. No exceptions. The mountain becomes unsurvivable after
Twenty Boats Was Legal
The Titanic had 20 lifeboats.
Capacity: 1,178 people.
Passengers and crew: 2,224.
Here's what most people
Three Minutes Nineteen Seconds
January 15, 2009. US Airways Flight 1549.
At 3:27:11 PM, the Airbus A320 struck a flock of Canada
Everyone Had the Data
In 2002, the Oakland A's had the lowest payroll in baseball.
They won 103 games.
The story became
The Shift Change
Patient mortality spikes during hospital shift changes.
Not because nurses are tired.
Because context doesn't survive handoffs.
Studies
Test Passed. Reactor Exploded.
April 26, 1986. Chernobyl.
The operators were running a safety test.
They were following procedures.
The test required lowering reactor