Jana Werner

Phil Le-Brun

<article-ideainbrief class="article-ideainbrief">
 <h4 class="ideainbrief-title">Idea in Brief</h4>
 <div class="ideainbrief-contents">
  <h5>The Problem</h5>
  <p>Companies struggle to cope with a complex world in which success comes from adapting and discovering. Despite trillions in investments over the past 20 years, just 12% of their transformation efforts show sustainable performance gains.</p>
  <h5>Why It Happens</h5>
  <p>Most companies are designed to deliver efficient, predictable outcomes and eliminate variation. That model works in a world focused on mass production, but companies must evolve as the world does.</p>
  <h5>The Solution</h5>
  <p>Companies must transition to a new paradigm: the Octopus Organization, inspired by the remarkably adaptive, curious, and intelligent sea dweller.</p>
 </div>
</article-ideainbrief><p class="mag-icon-change-management-w30">The metaphor for business organizations has long been the machine. Like machines, most companies are designed to create efficient, predictable outcomes; minimize risk; and eliminate variation. For decades this model—built on standardization, specialization, and control—helped companies create and deliver products with unfailing efficiency. And in some cases, it still does.</p>

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<p>As companies pour trillions into transformation efforts, few see lasting results. That&#8217;s because most organizations approach change like machines&#8212;rigidly, predictably, and from the top down, argue Amazon Web Services enterprise strategists Jana Werner and Phil Le-Brun. In this article, adapted from their forthcoming book <span class="mediatitle">The Octopus Organization</span> (Harvard Business Review Press, 2025), the authors offer a radically different paradigm: the Octopus Org. Modeled after one of nature&#8217;s most adaptive and intelligent creatures, the Octopus Org distributes decision-making, senses change in real time, and continually adapts. Unlike &#8220;Tin Man&#8221; organizations that view business as complicated but controllable, Octopus Orgs recognize the truly complex nature of today&#8217;s world, which is nonlinear, uncertain, and constantly evolving. The key to thriving in it is to change <em>antipatterns</em>&#8212;deep-seated habits that compromise clarity, ownership, and curiosity. The shift to this model doesn&#8217;t unfold in predictable, scalable phases. It happens organically, as local teams solve meaningful problems and share what works. The prize? Greater adaptability, deeper engagement, stronger innovation, and, ultimately, lasting advantage.</p>

Become an Octopus Organization

As companies pour trillions into transformation efforts, few see lasting results. That’s because most organizations approach change like machines—rigidly, predictably, and from the top down, argue Amazon Web Services enterprise strategists Jana Werner and Phil Le-Brun. In this article, adapted from their forthcoming book The Octopus Organization (Harvard Business Review Press, 2025), the authors offer a radically different paradigm: the Octopus Org. Modeled after one of nature’s most adaptive and intelligent creatures, the Octopus Org distributes decision-making, senses change in real time, and continually adapts. Unlike “Tin Man” organizations that view business as complicated but controllable, Octopus Orgs recognize the truly complex nature of today’s world, which is nonlinear, uncertain, and constantly evolving. The key to thriving in it is to change antipatterns —deep-seated habits that compromise clarity, ownership, and curiosity. The shift to this model doesn’t unfold in predictable, scalable phases. It happens organically, as local teams solve meaningful problems and share what works. The prize? Greater adaptability, deeper engagement, stronger innovation, and, ultimately, lasting advantage.

Become an Octopus Organization

Summary.

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