Reframing Organizations, 7th Edition

Chapter 3Getting Organized

Organizing is what you do before you do something, so that when you do it, it is not all mixed up.

—A. A. Milne

Consider the smooth flow of an eight‐oar racing crew. Shells skim along the Charles River like a highly choreographed ballet group performing Swan Lake. To a coxswain's cadence, eight oars at exactly 90 degrees enter the water in unison. A collective pull “in swing” propels the shell smoothly forward as eight oars leave the water at a precise perpendicular angle. If any oarsman muffs just one of these strokes or “catches a crab,” the shell is thrown off kilter. Close coordination welds eight rowers into a harmonious crew. It looks straightforward to an outside observer, an effortless ballet in motion. ...