Kane's Law and Corollays - part 2

Last week I introduced Kane's Law (of Large Organizational Dynamics) which states:

"The structure of an organization dictates the distribution of power, decision-making authority, and the organization’s capacity for innovation or adaptation. Without addressing structural patterns, efforts to change systems, culture, or power dynamics will be superficial and ultimately unsustainable."

From this a number of corollaries can deduce. Lets look at them starting with (what I think is) the most important.

Corollary 1: "Real cultural change follows structural shifts, not precedes them."

• Explanation: Efforts to change an organization’s culture—like promoting innovation or collaboration—will fail if the underlying structure remains unchanged. Structure defines power relationships and communication pathways, which in turn shape culture.
• Implication: Organizations need to focus on changing their structure (e.g., giving teams more autonomy) to drive the cultural outcomes they seek, such as greater innovation or agility.

Corollary 2: "Strategy can only be as effective as the structure that supports it."

• Explanation: A well-crafted strategy will fail if it is not supported by the organization’s structure. If decision-making is too centralized or slow, the strategy cannot be executed with the necessary agility or responsiveness to market changes.
• Implication: Organizations need to continuously align their structure with their strategy, ensuring that teams and individuals have the power and autonomy necessary to execute on strategic goals.

Corollary 3: "The degree of decision-making autonomy scales with the level of distributed structure."

• Explanation: In hierarchical structures, decision-making is centralized, and autonomy is limited to the top of the pyramid. As power is distributed across teams or functions (e.g., through self-organizing teams or cross-functional squads), decision-making autonomy increases.
• Implication: To unlock greater autonomy and faster decision-making, organizations must move away from centralized control and adopt structures that allow teams to take ownership of decisions at the operational level.

Corollary 4: "Rigid structures inhibit learning, while adaptable structures facilitate continuous improvement."

• Explanation: In rigid, hierarchical structures, communication flows vertically, and feedback loops are slow, limiting the organization’s ability to learn from mistakes or adapt to new information. In contrast, flexible structures encourage open communication and faster feedback loops, promoting continuous learning and improvement.
• Implication: Organizations aiming to foster a learning culture need to prioritize flexibility in their structures to ensure that feedback and innovation can flow freely.

Corollary 5: "The more complex and layered the structure, the less innovative the organization becomes."

• Explanation: Complex hierarchies with many layers of management slow down decision-making and stifle innovation. As power becomes concentrated and communication convoluted, employees and teams find it harder to experiment or push innovative ideas forward.
• Implication: To increase innovation, organizations need to simplify their structures, reducing layers of management and empowering teams with the authority to make decisions and take risks.

A central theme of Kane's Law is that structure dictates power. But what is meant by power? We'll look at that next week.