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Niels Pflaeging
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Organize for Complexity: How to Get Life Back Into Work to Build the High-Performance Organization (Betacodex Publishing) Paperback – Illustrated, March 19, 2014

by Niels Pflaeging (Author), Pia Steinmann (Illustrator)
4.2 out of 5 stars 63
See all formats and editions
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Purchase options and add-ons

A book about complexity and work - and about how to deal productively with both.
A condensed introduction to the theory and practice of organizational high performance.
A manifesto for contemporary leadership and profound transformation in organizations of all kinds.

"Boldly, Pflaeging dissects classic management theory and in a well-humored manner, offers coherent alternatives." Harvard Business Review

"Niels Pflaeging is the father of the end of management." Winfried Felser, competence-site

"When Pflaeging shakes the dogmas of management, they crumble in his hands." Financial Times Germany

"Niels Pflaeging is always right up front, where the new in business is getting measured and mapped." Peter Felixberger, changeX
Previous page
  1. Book 1 of 3
    BetaCodex Publishing
  2. Print length
    142 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Publisher
    Betacodex Press
  5. Publication date
    March 19, 2014
  6. Dimensions
    8 x 0.39 x 8 inches
  7. ISBN-10
    0991537602
  8. ISBN-13
    978-0991537600
  9. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Organize for Complexity is one of the very best books I've read about change and how to successfully thrive within organizational life. Niels has thought deeply about organizational development." Michael Bungay Stanier

"Organize for Complexity is the essential handbook for management in the network era." Harold Jarche

"Boldly, Pflaeging dissects classic management theory and in a well-humored manner offers coherent alternatives." Harvard Business Review

"Niels Pflaeging is the father of the end of management." Winfried Felser, competence-site

"When Pflaeging shakes the dogmas of management, they crumble in his hands." Financial Times Germany

"Niels Pflaeging is always right up front, where the new in business is getting measured and mapped." Peter Felixberger, changeX

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Betacodex Press; 5th Revised ed. edition (March 19, 2014)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 142 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0991537602
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0991537600
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8 x 0.39 x 8 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.2 out of 5 stars 63

About the author

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Niels Pflaeging

Niels Pflaeging

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Niels Pflaeging is a passionate and thoughtful advocate for a “new breed“ of leadership and profound change in organizations. He is an acclaimed public speaker and author of several business books. Niels is founder of the BetaCodex Network, and co-founder of Red42 based in Wiesbaden, Germany. Niels was a director with the prestigious Beyond Budgeting Round Table, BBRT between 2003 and 2007.

Niels wrote ten books and many articles on leadership and transformation. His latest books include "Essays on Beta, Vol. 1" and "OpenSpace Beta" (together with Silke Hermann). His second book, “Leading with flexible Targets” was awarded the Financial Times Germany Best Business Book award, in 2006. His books were lauded by critics and readers and several became bestsellers. Since 2006, Niels has been strongly involved in transformational change initiatives as a short-time and long-time advisor, in firms both in Europe and in the Americas. Niels not only speaks – he walks the talk.

Customer reviews

4.2 out of 5 stars
4.2 out of 5
63 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

David Lee
5.0 out of 5 stars A great introduction to the topic of Complexity
Reviewed in the United States on September 8, 2016
Verified Purchase
After about 20 years learning about and dealing with Complexity at Fortune 50 company and then with a global outsourcing organization, I decided to take up the issue as my central career. I found Organize for Complexity through social media and bought it as part of my education on the business applications of the theories. More recently used the book to educate my one of biggest consulting client on the topic as well. While most books can be a bit scary to the uninitiated, Organize for Complexity is practical, illustrative and provides lasting (sometimes shocking) insights. I often feel like a lone voice, but I am slowly finding more and more leaders who are willing to listen and learn about Complexity and this book helps the expedite the conversion process.
5 people found this helpful
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Dmitry Razorionov
4.0 out of 5 stars Quick’n’easy guide of why network organizations will prevail.
Reviewed in the United States on May 8, 2021
Verified Purchase
Good for assuring readers who already got that structures and top-down directives are impediments set not for scale. This book motivates, like really.
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Brandon Klein
5.0 out of 5 stars Author and content are genius
Reviewed in the United States on June 18, 2014
Verified Purchase
If you are at all in doubt about buying this book - don't be. If you are thinking about how to improve the community or corporation you work int - buy it.

It is also a fast read which is very welcome in the networked age and too many books to keep up with. The pictures with the text are clear, to the point and actionable.

Thank you Niels!
3 people found this helpful
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Dan in Colorado
5.0 out of 5 stars Simple explanation of a "complex" topic
Reviewed in the United States on August 21, 2015
Verified Purchase
Great presentation of why you need to make decisions locally to operate in a complex environment.

The writing style is a bit of an experiment, but I think it worked. He uses fewer words and lots of drawings. It sounds cartoonish, but the wording is very potent.
2 people found this helpful
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Jennifer
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 3, 2018
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Niels is always awesome!
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michael combest
4.0 out of 5 stars Loaded!!
Reviewed in the United States on August 23, 2014
Verified Purchase
Plenty of historical synthesis. Plenty of new perspectives. Loads to discuss and potentially execute upon. The book is a catalyzer for the amplification of every mind in an organization.
2 people found this helpful
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Wayne Hetherington
5.0 out of 5 stars Great introduction to modern organizational structure
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2016
This book is a great staring point to explore many of the ideas of updated organizational structure. Niels builds on the basis of Theory X -Theory Y and then describes how entire organizations can be either alpha (old structure) or beta (new structure) in their values, principles, and practices. He finishes off with some ideas about moving from alpha to beta.
Each page contains a very brief and concise paragraph or two describing an idea for which entire books may have been written. This introduction is just enough to launch further research into a variety of subjects.
It is a light, fast read that provokes many deep questions. You will be thinking about how to improve your organization long after you put it down.
2 people found this helpful
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Jan Höglund
3.0 out of 5 stars A small book on work and complexity with an emphasis on market dynamics
Reviewed in the United States on October 22, 2016
This is a small book on work and complexity. The book is intended to be a "textbook for thinking about organizations," a "source of inspiration," a "dictionary," and a "workbook" (p.x). Niels Pflaeging argues that "we must create and sustain organizations that are … robust for complexity, as well as fit for human beings" (p.xii).

Niels Pflaeging calls "control through bosses" Alpha, and "self-regulation within the team" Beta (p.26). Frederick W. Taylor introduced Alpha, the idea of "consistently dividing an organization between thinking people (managers) and executing people (workers)" (p.4). Pflaeging argues that "complexity can be neither managed, nor reduced" (p.9). What matters for "dealing effectively with complexity is human beings" (p.9). In organizations, a few "messes," causes "problems," and even more "symptoms" (p.12). By acting on the "messes with adequately complex solutions, many problems dissolve" (p.12).

Our "assumptions … shape our behavior, and the way we … run organizations" (p.17). The way we design our organizations, Alpha or Beta, depends on "the assumptions we hold about the human nature" (p.17). And the "diversity in motivations and preferences" between people "can be an asset, or a liability, depending on the level of self-reflection present" (p.23). An individual's behavior "is shaped by motives, preferences, and competencies" (p.25). Value, or results, arise from the "interaction between … individuals" (p.27). And people "communicate & connect in wildly different manners" (p.28).

"Teams" and "Groups" are different (p.35). "Teams are multi-functional, … or functionally integrated," while "Groups are uni-functional, or functionally differentiated" (p.35). Niels Pflaeging thinks that a better term for "self-organization" is a "socially dense market-organization" (p.36). He also thinks that "social pressure, used correctly," is "far more powerful than hierarchy" (p.37). "Coordination/communication" within the Team is "usually combined with market-like dynamics" (p.40). The communication "between teams is peer-to-peer" (p.41). Markets "require decentralization" (p.41).

Every organization has "informal structures" in which "social phenomena arise" (p.46). Informal structures "cannot be purposefully molded" (p.81). Every organization also has a "value creation structure" (p.47). "Organizational robustness … comes from the … inter-connections" between individuals and teams (p.48). And "decisions are taken where interaction with … the market occurs" (p.53). "Culture," furthermore, "is observable but not controllable" (p.54). "Market dynamics do the steering" (p.64). "Market pull … connects the market with the organization" (p.66).

Individuals are "not confined to one role" in a "decentralized network structure" (p.72). They "build individual role portfolios of their own" (p.72). Leadership is a "social process" which "operates by influencing people and their contexts" (p.77). Leadership "is a role, a kind of work, not a job" (p.83). Leadership "means working the system, not the people" (p.78). Reqruiting is the most important "leadership task of all" (p.84). Team-based "results" are made visible (p.79). "The interests of stakeholders are … interdependent" (p.81). A successful organization creates value "for all stakeholders" (p.81).

"Dynamic-robust network organizations need … efficient decision-making" (p.88), and "fast and easy access to information" (p.86). "Consultative individual decision-making" can be found "in organizations with … decentralized decision-making" (p.88). Consultation refers to "the collection of information and advice, before making a decisions" (p,88). Beta "requires dealing with power and communication" in ways which are "not built into" our "reflexes"(p.101).

Organizational change "thrives on being operated … by all the members of the organization" (p.105). It can neither be "planned, nor programmed" (p.105). Profound "organizational and personal" change are "intertwined and inseparable" (p.107). "There are three things that anyone can do to … nudge" change (p.109): (1) "Encourage … dialogue and networking;" (2) "Use existing forums;" (3) "Remove what hinders" (p.109).

To summarize, this is a small book which is very easy to read. Nils Pflaeging addresses questions related to people, work and complexity, with a strong emphasis on market dynamics. Maybe too strong? Getting life back to work has as much to do with compex human relationships as with market pull. The book has wonderful illustrations and can be used as a source of inspiration.
7 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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Shabnoor
5.0 out of 5 stars Easy but insightful read
Reviewed in Germany on June 6, 2019
Verified Purchase
Easy read. Simple but can challenge your thinking if you are an old-school thinker of traditional ways of leading and managing.
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Patricia
5.0 out of 5 stars Mind changing
Reviewed in Spain on February 1, 2019
Verified Purchase
Really interesting, mind changing, but at the same time easy to read.
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Nick Argall
3.0 out of 5 stars Simlpistic but persuasive
Reviewed in Australia on February 19, 2019
Verified Purchase
This is a really well-formulated and persuasive argument for a position I disagree with. The underlying premise (that all 'management' is fraud, and that hierarchy serves purely to the detriment of organizations) is appealing to the disaffected folks who are suffering under incompetent management. But it's not true. As such, the various prescriptions ignore the fact that experience and accumulated skills mean something. This will work well for Silicon Valley startups, but not so much elsewhere.
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David Sabine
5.0 out of 5 stars Every business administration student should read this book. Every ...
Reviewed in Canada on April 6, 2015
Verified Purchase
Every business administration student should read this book. Every business leader should read this book. Every entrepreneur should read this book.
2 people found this helpful
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ELaurent
3.0 out of 5 stars Face à face
Reviewed in France on July 5, 2015
Verified Purchase
J'ai apprécié
- l'approche visuelle avec de nombreux schémas
- des thématiques clés comme la "mass-cutumization" , "compliqué" vs "complexe"
- un livre agréable à lire
J'ai regretté
- la dualité système hiérarchique vs réseau, trop systématique, et une analyse sans mettre en exergue de véritables leviers
- la partie Conduite du changement qui reprend les premières étapes de Kotter - XRL8 mais avec un mix singulier
Dans le même registre je recommande
- Six simple rules de Y. Morieux et
- Leaders Make the Future: Ten New Leadership Skills for an Uncertain World - Bob Johansen "VUCA (volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity) to the hopeful VUCA (vision, understanding, clarity, and agility) will be the ultimate dilemma for leaders in the future."
4 people found this helpful
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