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Wiring the Winning Organization: Liberating Our Collective Greatness through Slowification, Simplification, and Amplification

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In this powerful new book, bestselling and award-winning authors Gene Kim and Dr. Steve Spear present a surprisingly simple theory to explain outstanding organizational performance… and show you how to replicate it in your own enterprise.
Each drawing on three decades of research and working with high-performing organizations across almost every industry and phase of value creation, Kim and Spear have come to a surprising winning comes from how leaders deliberately design their management systems around people's ingenuity and how individuals' creativity is integrated into a collaborative effort. This liberates the capabilities of the people within the organization, enabling them to continually push the frontiers of performance. These leaders have wired their organizations to win.
This is opposed to leaders who set their focus first on maximizing efficiency and optimizing for functional specialties, relying on planning, scheduling, and expediting, and yet never realizing those goals. Instead, they create high coordination costs and increase the cognitive burden, all of which constrain and sometimes even extinguish people's ability to contribute. This is how leaders wire an organization for dismal outcomes. These results shouldn't be surprising. After all, on an otherwise level playing field, the only source of sustained competitive advantage is how well people's intellectual capabilities can be engaged. Kim and Spear explain how organizations can move from the danger zone to the winning zone by employing three key slowification, which makes it easier to solve problems; simplification, which makes problems easier to solve; and amplification, which ensures problems are seen and solved. Using over twenty case studies that span a wide variety of sectors, Kim and Spear present a new theory of performance and management that shows how the decisive factor in high-performing enterprises is organizational wiring that enables innovation, excellence, and greatness to flourish. Wiring the Winning Organization teaches leaders how to move from the danger zone to the winning zone to achieve greater agility, higher quality, faster time to market, greater resilience, and higher employee engagement and profitability.

384 pages, Hardcover

Published November 21, 2023

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About the author

Gene Kim

22 books922 followers
Gene Kim is a multiple award-winning CTO, Tripwire founder, Visible Ops co-author, IT Ops/Security Researcher, Theory of Constraints Jonah, a certified IS auditor and a rabid UX fan.

He is passionate about IT operations, security and compliance, and how IT organizations successfully transform from "good to great."

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Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews
Profile Image for Jurgen Appelo.
Author 8 books913 followers
November 29, 2023
I'm afraid I found this book too simplistic. The authors make no distinction between complicated vs. complex problems, suggesting that complex problems can be simplified with just three simplification methods, ignoring the insights from systems thinking and complexity science that complexity cannot be reduced, only ignored. They also make no distinction between incrementing (learning from delivery) vs. iterating (learning from experiments), lumping these two together as if they are one approach.

There is nothing wrong with the insights and stories as all of it has already been covered many times in other books. It is the authors' own simple "theory" that I find rather unconvincing.
Profile Image for Tõnu Vahtra.
564 reviews87 followers
December 29, 2023
First thing that I recall in relation to anything Gene Kim is The Phoenix Project which is among my favourite IT books, there is actually a good plot, drama and conflict that engages the reader and also teaches a few important principles. In a way it's like Dilbert as you can find analogue from your organization to almost every character and event. When coming from this then this book places on the "boring side" (like DevOps Handbook which contains valuable information but takes some real willpower and effort to get through). "Read" the book in audiobook format and would say that it really does not work and I would have really disappointed without the 100+ pages accompanied PDF which filled the gap on somewhat acceptable level. I was hoping for a book that would be easy enough to teach/improve organizing work for people who have had limited exposure in this domain so far but I would not recommend it to this group. The model on it's own is relatively basic, but it requires huge amount of meta-level thinking and awareness of all the existing theories and best practices to "see through" the logic that authors are trying to explain. I was also slightly disturbed by the fact that authors claimed they have created something completely novel (resembling "theory of everything") while the examples used for illustration were either old classics (Apollo mission, Colombia Space Shuttle, Moon landing, Toyota KATA, Wright Brothers) or mainstream (Amazon, NOKIA, Netflix) which are already widely covered elsewhere. What I did like was that when you do have the experience already then it contains a good glossary of IT strategy/operational frameworks/terminology and their interaction with organization performance. In summary it's not that easy to get to this point, but the book does provide a different way of thinking that could lead to more efficient solutions.

From "danger zone" to "winning zone" in 3 steps:
1. slowification of the environment in which the problem-solving occurs to make problem-solving easier; ("thinking fast and slow"). Slowification expands upon this concept by placing an emphasis on creating opportunities to absorb feedback that fosters self-reflection and self-correction (Peter Senge "Fifth Discipline")
2. simplification of products, processes, and systems through the use of modularization, incrementalization, and linearization to make the problems themselves easier; and
3. amplification to make it more obvious that problems are occurring so they can be seen and solved.

#Modularization# simplifies problems by partitioning large, complex systems (the elements of which have highly intertwined interdependencies) into systems that are more modular in structure, with each module having clearly defined boundaries and established conventions for interactions with other modules.

#Incrementalization# simplifies problem-solving by converting a few, complex experiments (in which many factors are being tested simultaneously) into many smaller, faster, simpler experiments (in which fewer factors are being tested individually). It does this by partitioning what is already known and validated from what is novel and new, and by adding to the novelty in many small bits rather than in a few large bites.

#Linearization# sequences tasks associated with completing a larger set of work so that they flow successively, like a baton being passed from one person to the next. What follows is standardization for those sequences, for exchanges at partition boundaries, and for how individual tasks are performed. This creates opportunities to introduce stabilization, so that when a problem occurs, it triggers a reaction that contains the problem and prevents it from enduring and from its effects from spreading. This allows for self-synchronization, so the system is self-pacing without top-down monitoring and direction.

#Amplification# In the absence of fast, frequent, and useful feedback, systems of any type—technological, biological, social, psychological—will experience instability and even collapse. Systems with reliable feedback that triggers appropriate reactions are stable, resilient, and agile
in even the most arduous situations. In the long term, systems that have adequate feedback and are capable of adaptation will improve, sometimes in dramatic ways, both by direction and magnitude.

Three layers of work:
*Layer 1 - Person doing the work
*Layer 2 - Maintaining tooling and instrumentation used for the work
*Layer 3 - Managing social circuitry, flow of ideas and information around tools and work

The book also discusses transactional VS developmental leadership in lenght, although the distinction is simple then in real life its application is not really straightforward or always possible.
Profile Image for Seanpmcclean McClean.
22 reviews1 follower
April 6, 2024
This book is a rare gem in the realm of organizational development and management - one that achieves a balance of theoretical depth and practical applicability with remarkable finesse. Not surprising for the authors of books like The Pheonix Project, the Unicorn Project, and Chasing the Rabbit. The concepts of slowification, simplification, and amplification are ones I’ll be immediately applying to my day to day, family, and work organization processes. Loved it and would recommend it to anyone / everyone.
Profile Image for Carina.
167 reviews21 followers
April 12, 2024
A lot of this isn’t new, but describing what makes all of the practices and frameworks successful in unleashing human potential in a simple to describe way is very useful. It helped me understand converging theories I was less familiar with that unleash human potential rather than squander it.

And the example about the simple couch-moving and why schedules fail in coordination heavy efforts will be immediately recognizable by anyone feeling the frustration of “agile is dead” or locally optimized organizations struggling to move beyond silos and wasteful processes.
Profile Image for Jack Vinson.
803 reviews41 followers
November 20, 2023
Good collection of ideas about how to setup an organization for success. It had me thinking about the approaches I’ve taken to process / system improvement in a different light. In this view, it is all about designing the environment in which people operate, rather than focusing on the specifics of what they do.

Blog post coming soon.

Note: this was a review copy in advance of the book release.
Profile Image for Pedro.
78 reviews25 followers
March 13, 2024
Easy and broad introductory synthesis.

Simplistic treatment on complexity and other key points for experienced practicioners.
Profile Image for gustin.
2 reviews
February 4, 2024
Stellar assessment of what the best organizations and complex projects have in common. Research backed with interesting use cases. Provides a framework and mental model distilled from these commonalities that is accessible and pragmatic — highly recommended if you deal with any complex type project or software build that has many team dependencies and enjoy applied systems thinking.
Profile Image for Martin Chesbrough.
6 reviews2 followers
December 22, 2023
The cover of this book says:
Liberating our collective greatness through slowification, simplification and amplification.

I love that phrase "liberating our collective greatness". It reminds me of a one CEO I worked for who stood before the whole company, on the eve of a merger, to express his wish that we should come together (as part of the merger) and our collective energy and enthusiasm would create a new and better company. As I later learnt during the merger integration purpose, wishes would not be enough, a lot of hard work and wisdom was required to create a new (and ultimately greater) company.

Like that merger 17 years before, I approached this book with enthusiasm. I was familiar with Gene Kim's other work, like DevOps Handbook, Accelerate and the Phoenix/Unicorn Project and I had also read Steven Spear's The High Velocity Edge, plus I had watched a number of Steven Spear's presentations at the DevOps Enterprise Summit so I had a fair idea of what to expect. Steven Spear has written and taught extensively about operational excellence and becoming a market leader, while Gene Kim is a legendary figure in the DevOps world and his books bring out the human side of technology and change.

I believe this is a book that will influence a generation of leaders with its theory of performance management. It will be read by many and sit on a number of bookshelves. After being read, I hope that its lessons get applied ... widely.

The book is broadly structured around 3 concepts: slowification; simplification; and amplification. These 3 concepts are applied at what Kim and Spear refer to as Layer 3 problems, where Layer 1 problems are the work itself, Layer 2 are the tools and instrumentation to do the work and Layer 3 is the social circuitry. This book is primarily concerned with optimising Layer 3 in order to solve problems across all 3 layers.

The authors refer many times throughout the book to the organisation as a sociotechnical system, which dovetails nicely to my own area of study and work. What I specifically like is the way the authors have simplified the sociotechnial system to 3 layers. This is obviously in reference to solving problems across the organisation. It is (as Gene Kim will say in interviews) a parsimonious model - simple enough to represent and diagnose the cases presented.

I'd say this is where the book excels - I counted 26 case studies through the book. Ranging from NASA space missions through Toyota to university sailing teams and the Boston Marathon, there is a ton of interesting information through the case studies alone. Interestingly very few from the companies that regularly attend the DevOps Enterprise Summit (DOES) that Gene Kim runs.

The model that the authors use to embody performance is that of the Winning Zone and the Danger Zone. Many of the case studies concern organisations transitioning from the Danger Zone to the Winning Zone, through the use of Slowification, Simplification and Amplification. Some of them do not and they are stories of horrendous crashes and the loss of life.

Through the book Kim and Spear build up their Theory of Performance through these case studies. Starting with Slowification in chapters 4 to 6, where they turning planning and practice into a way to build up knowledge through an organisation so that it can perform better when stakes are high. Through Simplification in chapters 7 to 9 where they discuss modularisation and isomorphism, breaking down organisations and problems so that they can be solved. To Amplification in chapter 10 which brings the previous learnings together to show how an organisation (in this case Toyota) can institutionalise superior performance.

3 simple ideas (Slowification, Simplification and Amplification), 3 layers of performance, the model of Danger Zone and Winning Zone, the transitions between them and 26 case studies - it might be simple to summarise but if everyone could do this we would have higher performance and fewer accidents. Go out and wire (or rewire) your organisation.
Profile Image for Matthew.
10 reviews13 followers
April 1, 2024
I was trying to explain why this book means so much to me. I was outlining how "social circuitry" can make an environment either ideal for solving a problem or incredibly hostile to it. They responded with "sure, like we've been saying for years: people, process, and tools." I thought "sure, but that doesn't do it justice" and it took me a while to understand why it felt so much more profound to me. Here's my best attempt at explaining it now.

WtWO doesn't talk about the power of process, it provides a thoughtful, repeatable framework to have the chance to solve process problems. For instance, we commonly see people, process, tools drawn as a Venn diagram. Now, I see them as layered. In the same way the air around us makes it possible to breathe, social circuitry makes it possible to power the system of thinking. That's a totally different way to think about it.

Similarly, anyone in corporate environments hears regularly how we need to keep things "simple," but I've never been able to know what it means beyond making it "better (in my opinion)." WtWO gives discrete parameters around simplification that, in the months since reading it, I have applied a dozen times at work with incredible effect.

In short, I didn't expect to learn more than how Gene Kim keeps evolving his thinking about the world, but I left with a wildly applicable mental model that's already made me a more effective leader. I still can't say "the danger zone" without singing it, but every other part is now part of my vocabulary and I'm thankful for it.
Profile Image for Chris Austin.
73 reviews8 followers
January 22, 2024
I appreciate Gene Kim's work and have listened to every Idealcast episode (sometimes multiple times), have attended DOES, have read all of his books, and also appreciate Steve Spear. My expectations for this book were quite high because of this.

The ideas were good and I appreciate the attempt to create a framework for guiding principles that cover the lessons learned from Lean, Agile, DevOps, TPS, etc. The case studies were too shallow though, and same for the analysis of the influences above.

Sadly, the book didn't come with any new revelations for me. No eureka moments. I've already internalized the lessons from Idealcast and such, and have heavy influence from Sooner Safer Happier, Team Topologies, Agile Conversations, and Principles of Product Development Flow. This book wasn't as actionable as those, which was surprising.

The best note from it for me was to treat Fight/Flight/Freeze/Appease response as a prompt to engage Slow thinking.
December 23, 2023
Sense making to help more enterprises win

I’m very impressed with how Gene and Steve have managed to interrelate so many different works from different fields. Thank you for your efforts!

Personally, as a software engineer I finally have explanations of issues I see in my organisation (social circuitry) which are very similar to software development problems. I’m seeing this as a great catalyst for bridging with non-technical leaders.
Profile Image for Nicoleta Grandori.
13 reviews1 follower
January 15, 2024
I don’t know why I wanted more. It’s not bad, but I feel we could have had a chapter explaining the theory top to bottom and then study cases, and maybe some practical ways to change the status quo, shift mentality in very complex situations. I think reality has complex dependencies which were built though the years and without a top down approach (the example they gave for Amazon), it's difficult to change layer 3 "social circuitry"
Profile Image for Dan Craig.
153 reviews
January 15, 2024
There is not too much that is new here, but Kim (as always) does a good job incorporating a lot of industry concepts into a single working model. I particularly like his focus on leadership responsibility for a working L3 level. In my experience, that is the most critical and under-recognized dimension of safe and efficient delivery.

I look forward to speaking with executives at my company to see if they would like to apply some of these concepts!
34 reviews13 followers
December 17, 2023
The book presents a very simple but powerful model of slowification (to drive learning), simplification (to reduce intertwined complexity) & amplification (to act on rather than avoid issues) through engaging stories which brings it all to life.

The result should be simplified overheads (reduced coordination and expedition) and better results for the term and the organisation.
Profile Image for Vinny M.
47 reviews
January 8, 2024
I heard it on the audiobook. Not sure if it's me and I was distracted, or the way the book is written, but I feel like I would need to read the physical book to give a better review. Listening to it, and trying to keep track of the definitions throughout the book had me lost a few times. I'll have to reread it to give it a better review.
3 reviews
March 15, 2024
A Great Addition to My Leadership Library

Gene Kim & Steve Spear do a great job of pulling together so many excellent systems & tools of practice today (eg Agile, DevOps, TPS) and illustrate how important it is ensure how your company, conditions and leadership are wired in order to have systems that operate effectively.
Profile Image for Justas Butkus.
57 reviews4 followers
December 20, 2023
It now seems that any book with Gene Kim's name should be read without further consideration.

The relatively slow drill really connects well to the three topics outlined in the subject.
While it really is about an organization, the individual lessons apply to smaller teams perfectly.
January 24, 2024
Amazing book with very relevant examples

This book was released just as I changed roles and had to lead a new team in an area I had very little experience. It helped shape my thoughts around some of he tweaks we are currently implementing, starting with ‘amplification…’
Profile Image for João Quitério.
90 reviews
April 4, 2024
Good insights on how to wire organizations' social circuitry to improve performance. It is almost a meta-framework that aggregates principles from agile, lean startup, systems thinking, and others into three simple-to-understand buckets.
Profile Image for Tomas Dabašinskas.
19 reviews6 followers
February 24, 2024
I’m a big fan of Gene Kim, his writings, and his impact on the DevOps community, so I was really excited when I heard about this book on a podcast. The concepts of ‘slowify, simplify, amplify’ caught my interest, and the real-world examples throughout the book are clear and easy to relate to. However, I felt the book was unnecessary extended and sometimes repetitive, which made it dull at certain points.
Displaying 1 - 20 of 20 reviews

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