Leadership. Management by example, role modeling, and definition of rules and procedures for adhering to them.

Strategy and Transformation Agenda. Overall vision and strategy, processes for executing and cascading initiatives throughout the organization, and values.

Structure. Organizational layers, reporting lines, and spans of control.

Activities and Roles. Definition of roles and responsibilities for units and employees.

Processes, Systems, and IT. Definition of rules and policies for business processes as well as the supporting IT infrastructure.

Decision Making. The hierarchy of decision-making authority and the escalation of decisions up through the organization.

Performance Management. Oversight of business through aligned processes, KPIs, and rewards.

People and Interactions. Staff development, career paths, engagement, and meeting culture.

Smart Start. Identify performance issues caused by complicatedness—through belief audits, for example. Conduct high-level context evaluations such as the BCG Complicatedness Survey. This will uncover the complicatedness dimensions that require further analysis.

Diagnosis. Understand the root causes of performance problems by analyzing why people adopt unproductive behaviors. This is typically accomplished through in-depth employee interviews focusing on specific issues that are linked directly to the performance problems identified—for instance, how a lack of cooperation among store employees and managers, regional sales management, and headquarters impairs store performance.

Solution Design. Develop interventions that address the underlying causes of specific performance issues. Such interventions should consist of carefully targeted changes that promote desired behaviors and produce a clear and measurable impact on performance. Exhibit 3 outlines several possible interventions for each dimension and their potential impacts. For example, reducing duplication of tasks can significantly simplify employees’ activities and roles while boosting efficiency throughout the organization. But remember that no single intervention will cure larger, systemic performance ills.

Implementation. Apply the specific interventions by establishing a project management office to prioritize solutions, create an implementation road map, drive the change process, and monitor improvement.

How Complicated is your company