# Org Topologies — the home of modern org design > Org Topologies is the home of modern org design: a shared map, a common language and a learning loop for organizations fit for purpose, with people and AI. URL: https://www.orgtopologies.com/ ## Org design drives performance. STRATEGIC ORG DESIGN WITH PEOPLE AND AI Org Topologies is a strategic org design system: a shared map, a common language and a learning loop that help leaders and consultants make organizations fit for purpose — with people and AI. ## The agentic age runs on org design. WHY ORG TOPOLOGIES Inside narrow mandates, AI speeds up each individual and team while the system stays stuck — more motion, same bottlenecks. A Ferrari effect: swap every car in a traffic jam for a Ferrari and the jam stays. Fix the road first. Org Topologies helps fix the road: see your design, choose what to optimize for, and change it step by step — so AI’s speed turns into business results. Shape your organization’s intelligence. 10x the impact. ## Org Topologies™ THE MAP, STEP BY STEP How to map your org → ACADEMY Practitioner (C-OTP) and Consultant (C-OTC) classes, live online and in person. Visit the Academy → ## Change, MADE systemic THE APPROACH Org design sits between strategy and performance. MADE is the loop that keeps it fit, named after its four moves: Map study Assess Design improve Elevate . First study the design you have, then improve toward the design you need. Study the design you have 01 Place every unit by skills and work mandate 02 Name the topology you have — and whether it fits Improve the design you need 03 Imagine the organization you need, without today’s limits 04 Get the change going with Elevating Katas All four moves on one sample org, with maps, the three topologies and the Elevating Katas. Learn about the approach → ## Four intelligences, shaped by mandates What an organization can sense, decide and do does not live in its people or its tools. It emerges from the mandates each unit is given. Narrow mandates constrain intelligence; broad, coherent ones expand it. A position on the map describes organizational power, not human worth. directing DIRECTING Coordination intelligence Oversees the whole solution space with centralized control. Lacks skills to create value directly but adds value by coordinating others’ work through planning and control. A business analyst writing requirements. risks an illusion of control — unless it brings leaders closer to real work. driving DRIVING Adaptive intelligence Focused on owning outcomes and shaping what gets built next. Blends discovery and delivery, using real customer signals to refine both the problem and the solution. A three-person startup, or a team-of-teams. a multiplier that eases cognitive load in new domains. doing DOING Specialization intelligence Highly skilled in narrow domains. Excel at precision, quality, and efficiency within well-defined boundaries. Act as deep specialists focused on defined tasks rather than outcomes. A line cook executing recipes perfectly. automates tasks — but faster tasks only speed up local output. delivering DELIVERING Flow intelligence Creates value independently within a defined work area. Masters a complete Definition of Done, shipping results quickly while staying within defined boundaries. An e-commerce search team. as a teacher, lowers the cost of learning the wider system. AI-READY MAPPING Work is done by agents of intelligence — org units: people, groups and AI. The same map of mandates applies to all of them — human, agent or robot. Place each by what it is allowed to learn and work on, not by its title. The language of org design, the 16 archetypes, how to map your organization — and free tools to start. Learn to map → ## Three topologies, three goals STUDY COMMON TOPOLOGIES Each common topology combines different intelligences — specialization, flow, coordination, adaptive — and “shines” in a different environment. resource Resource Doing + Directing (specialization + coordination intelligences) Utilization & predictability Stable, process-driven environments Rigid when strategy shifts delivery Delivery Delivering + Directing (flow + coordination intelligences) Speed & flow within boundaries Known work that fits the team structure Cross-cutting work needs coordination adaptive Adaptive Driving (adaptive intelligence) Adaptability & learning Volatile, innovation-driven contexts Challenges existing control structures A sample map of each, the clickable four intelligences, and how to go see with a map. Distinguish the topologies → ## Elevating Katas ELEVATE · STEP 4 OF MADE Elevating is a deliberate move right and up on the map. The katas are the moves: small, repeatable routines that change how the organization works. A menu, not a sequence: start with the few that match your most pressing constraint. The katas are grouped by the five elements of Jay Galbraith’s Star Model™: change one element and the others must follow. Explore the Katalog → Case studies rich in katas All case studies with katas → less-transformation-in-wartime-ukraine-building-an-adaptive-organization-at-dim-ria preventing-transformation-mistakes-with-org-topologies ## What practitioners say about Org Topologies TESTIMONIALS “It was so much easier to describe the FlixBus agile journey using Org Topologies™, which otherwise would need much more explanation and reasoning. Mapping product depth and team skills dimensions bridged the gap between applying frameworks and discovering ways to organize teams.” Lucy Karpova Agile and Product Coach at Flix and Sixt “I used Org Topologies for the last two years myself, to answer questions regarding the agility of a team and the current project, and to identify the next steps moving forward. It supported me as a basis for alignment with our clients in identifying where we stand right now and, if there is a wish to evolve, which would be the right direction and actions.” Frank Dohmen Lead Project Management at IBM iX “We did this as a team exercise last week, gauging where on the map the teams thought they were. And then with Org Topologies, we were able to share our vision on where we want to go next. The great thing is that this helped us stay away from good/bad discussions and focus on something as simple as ‘we are here’ and ‘this is where we want to go next’.” Michael Voorhaen Product Manager at Strobbo, Protime Read the Strobbo case → “There are many tools out there that promise organizations the moon. Org Topologies™ IS the missing link that orchestrates the connection between the REAL issue at hand and RIGHT solution.” Anya Faingersh Scrum Master and Agile Coach “This framework-agnostic visual approach offers food for thought for anyone, who wants to actively shape the next steps of their business transformation journey. Mapping your teams with archetypes simultaneously show where you are and fosters the discussion, where you want to go.” Felix Lagemann Senior Consultant “One of their main motivations was to publish a model that gave practitioners a clear and specific language when talking about organizational design.” Carlton Nettleton The Scrum Academy Read his analysis → Leaders, coaches and consultants who mapped their organizations with Org Topologies. ## 10X ORG THE BOOK · POWERED BY ORG TOPOLOGIES 10X is not more activity. It is a tenfold increase in the organization's capability to learn, evolve, create value and stay strategically aligned. A business novel with a working method inside. The CEO wants fewer hires and more AI. Hanna, head of HR, looks through the Org Topologies lens — and finds an org design misfit no tool can fix. Principles, maps and real case studies along the way. ALEXEY KRIVITSKY · CRAIG LARMAN · ROLAND FLEMM More about the book ↗ Amazon.com Amazon.de Amazon.fr Amazon.nl Leanpub PDF, EPUB and web “10X is a vote for humanity in an era obsessed with mechanical efficiency.” WHAT REVIEWERS AND READERS SAY “You might be surprised how disconnected your organization’s structure is from what you are trying to achieve with it. In this book, Alexey and Roland describe a practical approach to organizational redesign, offering a blueprint for success.” Dave West CEO at Scrum.org (USA) “Most management books add complexity. This one strips it away. And it does so while being genuinely fun to read, which... for a book about organizational design, is practically a miracle.” jurgen-de-smet Your Chief Simplification Officer (Belgium) ★★★★★ on Goodreads “Absolutely one of the best books in recent years—and certainly the best at explaining how to get the maximum possible value out of AI. … We purchased the book for our entire executive team, along with 10 additional copies to circulate among others.” Taru Vasenius “The book’s core insight is clear: true 10X growth requires rethinking organisational structure—not just adding technology to existing silos. If you want real organisational improvement—not just theatre—read it to understand why fluid scaling and self-organisation are the key building blocks for 10X change.” quinton-quartel Creator of FAST Agile (USA) “Despite being written for the context of 2026, the book is a heavyweight packed with timeless organizational wisdom. My highlighter literally ran out of ink trying to mark all the nuggets for future educational use.” steinar-haldorsen Strategic Executive Partner (Norway) “A rare book that actually changes how you see organizations. … If you've ever sat through a reorg that solved nothing, or watched an 'AI transformation' stall because nobody addressed the underlying structure — this book names what you were feeling and gives you a vocabulary to act on it.” Tomasz Zelezny “As someone who lives in the world of Flow, Kanban Strategy, TameFlow, and Org Design, this is the book I've been waiting for.” jose-coignard ProKanban Trainer (France) “The core contribution of the book is simple but powerful: performance is structural. … What I appreciate most in the book is that it treats organizational design not as a consultant deliverable, but as a leadership responsibility!” Jens Thiemann “For me, the Org Topologies concept brought new light and joy into scaling conversations, and I would highly recommend it for any organization, no matter how far they are on their agile journey.” Zuzi Šochová Certified Scrum Trainer; author of The Great ScrumMaster (Czech Republic) “In a way, reading 10xOrg feels like revisiting Peter Senge's The Fifth Discipline in the Age of AI.” Ilja Vi “Packed with practical tips that help me reflect and act in my role as a leader. This is a book you should always have in your back pocket!” joris-verheij Director Anti-Financial Crime Operations, ASN Bank (Netherlands) “10X Org is one of the few org/design books I've read that genuinely integrates systems thinking, orgl design and AI leverage in a coherent way.” alena-hlekava “The characters feel so real that I kept thinking: "Yep, I've worked with this person." … For me, the storyline made the ideas stick.” Zdenek “OT gave me the insight that growing companies suffer from a growing need for coordination … The Team-of-Teams, guided by a common vision and goal, requires less top-down coordination.” Michiel de van der Schueren Digital transformation lead, public sector, Rapid Circle (Netherlands) “With all the hype around AI, I was getting anxious about my future as a developer. This book helped me change my perspective and understand how to steer my career to remain productive and valuable in my organization.” Mike Maikovych ★★★★★ on Amazon.com “As someone who has worked for years with organizational design and large-scale agile transformations, I rarely get genuinely excited about a management book. 10x Org is one of those rare exceptions.” Robert Briese ★★★★★ on Amazon.de “I particularly liked the “Ferrari Effect” metaphor: AI can make individuals faster, but if the organisation still has traffic jams and roadblocks, overall performance will not improve.” Natalia “For me, Org Topologies™ has become the missing piece of the puzzle that connects agility, frameworks, switching costs, transaction costs, learning costs, to organizational design.” Koen Siegers “This book goes straight to the heart of the issue: the real bottleneck is rarely the technology — it’s the organizational design.” Pelzl “Good managers understand the relationship between organisational performance and how work and skills are structured. Great managers apply this in practice.” Viktor ★★★★★ on Amazon.nl “A dialogue-based book that you finish thinking "okay, now I see it." A really necessary book for managers.” Francois ★★★★★ on Amazon.fr “A powerful and practical guide for modern leaders. Clear thinking, actionable frameworks, and a compelling vision for combining people and AI to elevate performance. Highly recommended.” Alexandra “The exchange between novel and narrative, and explanation of how they helped organisations based on real life experience and examples, is a refreshing way of storytelling as well as educating. A pleasant yet educative read!” Chiel ## Craig Larman on 10X ORG WHY THIS BOOK Craig Larman, co-author of 10X ORG and contributor to the Org Topologies model, on why he thinks this book matters. 6TRqhOHIxfU ## New articles and talks LATEST All articles → All videos → TALK TO THE AUTHORS LIVE Practitioners share maps, and the authors join the conversation live in Slack. 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