TL;DR: Most transformations fail not from bad execution but from bad design — too much order, imposed on systems too complex to control that tightly. The fix isn’t less structure. It’s structure in the right place: lock down outcomes and non-negotiables, release control over how people get there. Amazon, Netflix, Microsoft, and Haier all do a version of this, even without the language. It’s not a case against control — it’s a case for putting it where it actually helps. It was month fourteen of an eighteen-month transformation programme. The programme office had a dashboard. Forty-seven workstreams. A RAG status … Continue reading The Edge of Chaos: Why Transformations Fail — And What Leaders Can Do Differently