Structuring Work to Optimize Sustainable Success

Michael R. Wood is a Business Process Improvement & IT Strategist Independent Consultant. He is creator of the business process-improvement methodology called HELIX and founder of The Natural Intelligence Group, a strategy, process improvement and technology consulting company. He is also a CPA, has served as an Adjunct Professor in Pepperdine's Management MBA program, an Associate Professor at California Lutheran University, and on the boards of numerous professional organizations. Mr. Wood is a sought after presenter of HELIX workshops and seminars in both the U.S. and Europe.

  Organizational Project Management   Strategy  

Everyone has a preferred way to work. Some work best in groups, being part of a collaborative effort. Others are most productive when they work as a soloist—virtuosos. Organizations that can structure work in a way that allows people—especially those involved in projects and technology—to shape the way they produce value are most likely to experience a sustainable and stable workforce.

Organizations are progressively becoming involved in creating and embracing frameworks for how work should be done. They often ignore the best model at the worker level and instead create rules and structures that are much more a “one-size-fits-all” approach, using terms like “best practices” to support it.

Interesting is that these models are never imposed on upper management. The enlightened organization creates an environment that allows people to work in a way that they are happiest and most productive—while providing a structure that allows the organization to manage and align the value the workforce delivers to its stakeholders.

To better understand how an adaptive framework can deliver the best value, it’s good to understand what ways of working are currently at the forefront of popularity. Depending on the source, there are a number of frameworks that describe ways to work.

The source I found to be the most extensive, &…

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