Category: Operations

It's an old story that repeats itself and that businesses experience cyclically: the emergence of a problem that is initially believed to be temporary, but which turns out to have been around for a long time. Margins erode, quality becomes less predictable, teams wear out, departures multiply, and, of course, we start by blaming the market, competitive pressure, and the context. Then some people begin to suggest that the problem may not be primarily economic, but organizational, and that we are mistaking symptoms for causes. This belated realization raises questions not...