11A Collaborative Founder Julian Chender sat down with Nonprofit Mission: Impact host Carol Hamilton to talk about how nonprofits can move beyond simple restructuring to intentional organizational design that aligns strategy, structure, and process. 

The Nonprofit sector is gearing up for a significant increase in the number of mergers, acquisitions, and strategic partnerships as organizations face funding cuts and look to consolidate programs and services for more concentrated impact. But nothing will succeed without careful and well planned integration based on robust Organization Design principles. This article discusses the math problem of nonprofit merger integration and how to harmonize organizations well. 

11A Collaborative Founder Julian Chender sat down with Jessy Grossman, host of the leadership podcast Too Millennial to explore the nuances of organization design—what it is, how it works, and why it matters more than ever in times of disruption. Together, they unpack why new strategies require new designs—not just new org charts.

11A Founder Julian Chender kicked off Season 3 of the Unpacking Organizations podcast with Rupert Morrison, Founder of Orgvue, and Shradha Prakash, VP Talent & Org at Mastercard. They discuss organization design for social impact (why it’s different and how it’s done), how to incorporate culture into organization design, and the first six months of 11A Collaborative.

Nonprofits across the country are facing the task of quickly downsizing to match their reduced budgets. How organizations go about downsizing will have long-term implications for their organizations and the field. Downsizing by design is a process 11A Collaborative has been using across a number of clients. It offers a trauma-informed approach to collective change, engaging the organization in intentionally designing a new path forward in the face of lost funding.

How can organizations design themselves for success in a world of constant change and limited resources? In this episode of the People Dividend podcast, Julian Chender sits down with host Mike Horne to explore how strategic design and alignment can make or break an organization's impact.

It was in Paris that music reinforced the need to engage clients in the dynamic co-creation of organizational outcomes. In the booming nature of the Philharmonie, Yannick Nézet-Séguin suggested the musicians “let the hall finish the notes.” Rather than producing a complete package, he encouraged them to be in conversation with their surroundings, to play with the environment rather than for it

In this episode of the The Narrative is Changing / The Offstage Mic, Julian Chender talks with Aubrey Bergauer about the intricacies of designing arts organizations. The conversation focuses on structure, both the vertical (silos) and horizontal (integration points) needed to create a cohesive arts organization responsive to its audience.

I had a great time speaking with Garin Rouch and Dani Bacon of Distinction Business Consulting about the fundamentals of Organization Design and the history of the field for the OrgDev Podcast. It is a wide-ranging conversation that touches on everything from “trauma snags” to the discovery of the Zeigarnik Effect. And of course, Organization Design.

This video presents 11A Collaborative’s early work supporting the incoming Manhattan Borough President with strategy and organization design. The presentation describes some fundamental concepts of horizontal organization design, the bringing together of the different parts of an organization to work collectively on strategic outcomes, which in this case were Equity, Climate Resiliency, and Public Health.

After spending seven hours in the emergency room, one notices the similarities between doctors and consultants. Both are helping professions that rely on external intervention in complex systems where accurate diagnosis of system behavior leads to measurable improvement. More so, both use shared participation and accountability.

What does war theory tell us about Organization Design and Development? 15 years ago I took an undergraduate seminar in the causes of war at Swarthmore College influence my understanding of organizations and their leaders. This blog shows how Prospect Theory explains leadership and organizational behavior, and the role of the advisor in working with it.

After the arrival of COVID-19, the “Organization Development Review” requested papers on how we could face the challenges of 2020 and beyond. Julian Chender and Dr. Corrie A. Voss wrote this piece with the help of Dr. Frances Baldwin. It builds on the work of the late Dr. Irv Rubin, exploring how self-concept development is needed in times of disruption. While ingrained self-concepts can be altered, very little is known about how this occurs. We offer an initial model of how experiences might dislodge and reshape the self-concept using the elements of Awareness, Humility, and Will.

Julian Chender gave the keynote address at OPERA America’s 2021 virtual conference, discussing how to integrate across organization silos for opera’s new post-Covid world. The talk discusses how it is possible to arrive at a “new normal” without returning to old department structures and modes of operation.

Julian Chender sat down with Brandon Curry of WorkArts Advisors to discuss their shared love for Organization Design. They touch on the important skill of marrying both theory and practice to deliver high-quality work. Check out the video.