Craig Howe (founder of V2 Digital) published an article on SmartCompany suggesting a return to Bimodal IT. The underlying premise of the article is “How do companies undertake digital transformation while running their existing operations”?

This article will extend the above concept and consider organisational strategy beyond digital transformations. Organisational strategy involves articulating a set of compelling goals, thoughtful allocation of funding, and executing with unwavering focus and urgency. Despite its apparent simplicity, executing a strategy can prove exceptionally challenging. There are many factors that can impact successful execution, but there are some fundamental concepts that, while often overlooked, can have a material impact.

A common pitfall in strategy and transformations occurs when the inevitable flurry of activities, meetings, promotions and the top-down push for change results in “success theatre”. On the surface, things appear successful, yet there are deeper, underlying issues where the strategy execution is not actually resulting in systemic transformation or material outcomes. Avoiding two management traps and considering organisational design can materially reduce the risk of strategic failure.

Consider a typical organisation facing multiple imperatives: the need for innovation to regain market leadership, the imperative to modernise the core platform for agility and growth, and the ongoing requirement to maintain strong cash flow and stable margins. These imperatives require distinct technical, engineering, and design capabilities, along with different operational practices, financial approaches, and sales strategies.

The concept of multi-zoning (stepping beyond the BiModal) the organisation is one that can effectively bring focus to execution and alignment to strategic goals. It can strengthen the focus on financial investment, people capabilities, sales, marketing and pricing strategies directly relevant to the strategic outcome. However, the organisation will still have multiple imperatives.

Just as well-architected systems emphasise autonomy and decoupling, effective organisational strategy identifies clear, measurable objectives. However, these objectives may overlap or conflict, leading to a loss of focus and priority. Thus, it becomes crucial to architect the organisational structure and execution approach with a similar mindset. This transformation might resemble reengineering a monolithic system into loosely coupled, autonomous components, each taking full ownership of its responsibilities with minimal reliance on others.

Once the strategy is in place, the organisation must transition its focus to implementing deliberate and sustained changes. This extends to all foundational governing elements, including evaluating of organisational structure, leadership roles, incentives, metrics, and management practices. It also entails making challenging decisions about which initiatives and existing investments to halt.

Launching a new strategy is often an exciting prospect, and leaders dedicate their own focus to setting out programs of work to deliver the outcome. However, the existing systems of work, business operations and embedded cultural processes and norms are often overlooked when transitioning from the current organisational state to a newly desired state.

There is a dangerous combination of the sunk cost fallacy and the belief in the ability to multitask effectively.

Multitasking is a clear management trap, and the common misconception is that people and teams can effectively multi-task or, worse, don’t realise that implicitly, leaders are asking their teams to multi-task - or, more clearly stated, fly the plane while rebuilding it. So it’s imperative that leaders (whether through multi-zoning or not) ensure teams are not multitasking and are focused precisely on the aspect of strategy they must be.

The sunk cost fallacy will then come into play. The inability to stop work will drive an added workload into teams. This will result in conflicting priorities beyond the control of teams, context switching, reduced efficiency, lower employee morale and a reduction in the organisation's operational health. Ultimately, these consequences are likely to result in failed strategic execution.

While effective digital transformations can leverage BiModal organisational constructs, organisational strategies are broader and require more nuanced considerations.

These start with strong senior leadership making tough decisions. Decisions that enable the organisation and their teams to avoid management pitfalls include believing that multitasking is possible and effective. Decisions to stop work that is not defined as part of the strategy and zoned appropriately. Decisions to actively reject success theatre.

There are many ways to cut the watermelon, and any way you cut it you want to find it healthy inside!