Episode 57: Gene Kim on "Wiring the Winning Organization," Unlocking High-Performance Organizations

Mik + One: The Official Project to Product Podcast by Dr. Mik Kersten

Joining Mik in this episode of Mik + One is technology luminary Gene Kim. Gene Kim is an esteemed author and technology thought leader with over two decades of experience studying high-performing technology organizations. Mik and Gene look into the groundbreaking insights from Gene's latest book, "Wiring the Winning Organization," co-authored with Dr. Steven Spear. They navigate the pressing need for new organizational frameworks that bridge the gaps left by traditional models like Lean, Agile, and DevOps. They also analyze the core mechanisms vital to achieving optimal organizational performance, such as simplification and amplification.

Listen as Mik and Gene explore the concept of ‘slowification’—the strategic slowdown for long-term gains—and provide practical advice on how technology leaders can implement these changes.

Key discussions include:

• Understanding the critical layers involved in organizational performance: objects (code, patients), tools (IDEs, MRI machines), and social circuitry (team communication).
• Learn about the essential mechanisms—slowification, simplification, and amplification—that form the backbone of successful organizational design.
• Explore the impact of strong, clear feedback loops in optimizing organizational efficiency and uncovering hidden inefficiencies.
• Discover how partitioning complex systems into modular components can facilitate faster development and deployment cycles.
• Learn how Gene's book provides a framework that is understandable and actionable at all organizational levels, focusing on practical implementation.

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Additional Resources:

• Portfolio SAFe
• The Unicorn Project by Gene Kim
• Wiring the Winning Organization by Gene Kim and Steven J. Spear
• MarTech
• Scrum Studio
• Greenfield project
• Skunkworks
• Bimodal IT
• Agile Release Train
• Mik + One Podcast Episode 20: Justin Watts
• Join the Flow Framework Community