Lecture on Organizational Charts

Introduction

• Speaker's passion for organizational charts
• Aim: Shift audience opinions on the topic post-talk

Speaker's Background

• Experience in various startups and industries
• Consultation with founders globally
• Observed minimal variance in team structure among startups

Common Team Structures in Startups

• Small, cross-functional teams with a narrow product focus
• Reference to Spotify's 2012 paper, leading to a common team structure
• Companies often adopt this model based on popular content
• Issue: These startups do not resemble Spotify in scale or culture

Challenges Observed

• Companies become slower with team expansion
• Lack of team focus and rising technical/product debt
• Difficulty in relating individual team contributions to larger company goals
• Ultimate issue linked to Conway's Law: Teams ship products that mirror their org structures

Common Fixes and Their Flaws

• Adding OKRs and goal-setting layers to control focus
• Introduces more complexity without solving the core problem

Core Proposal

• Embrace Conway's Law by intentionally designing the org chart to reflect the desired product
• Avoid mindlessly copying existing structures

Key Concepts

1. Shape of Teams

• Resist symmetrical design for org charts
• Symmetrical org charts spread focus and create divided attention

2. Size and Scope

• Teams should vary in size based on needs
• Default 5-8 people team structures are outdated and based on past paradigms (e.g., Amazon's two-pizza team, Intel's 1983 management model)
• Modern communication tools can support larger teams (e.g., Nvidia's structure)

3. Focus and Over-Provision

• Differentiate the main product aspect from secondary/supporting functions
• Over-provision primary teams to handle core product and user feedback
• Properly manage technical and product debt without stalling progress

Practical Application

• Identify the largest feasible scope for teams' responsibilities
• Avoid premature splitting into small, narrow-scope teams
• Consider technical or skill-set boundaries for team splitting
• Address morale and performance issues with under-valued teams (e.g., platform teams)

Case Study: Linear

• Linear's team structure by region and core product functions
• Focus on main product while managing smaller, narrow-scope teams for specific tasks
• An org chart that looks complex and interwoven, reflecting their product's complexity
• This non-symmetrical structure better serves their product and customers

Conclusion

• Tactical org chart design to match product needs
• Startups should follow their intuition and product-focus rather than rely on generic structures found online
• Confidence in designing org charts based on specific company and product requirements