Co-authored with Roger Burlton and Doug Kirkpatrick

Cohesion is the force that underpins successful organizations and transformations.

When people think about transformation or digital transformation, words like technology, data, change, agility, and innovation often come to mind. However, cohesion is what makes it all work. Cohesion is how we bring people, processes, technology, and more together into an integrated whole that creates something greater than the sum of its parts to deliver on strategy, purpose, value, and outcomes. It’s how we turn strategy into reality. Cohesion creates music from the orchestra.

In December 2025, global thought leaders Roger Burlton, Doug Kirkpatrick, and I explored the concept of cohesion, how it benefits organizations, practical steps to create a cohesive organization, and the art of possible. This article summarizes key insights from that conversation and the full Digital Dialogue is well worth watching.

What is cohesion – and what is it not?

First, it is important to clarify what cohesion is not. The opposite of cohesion is fragmentation or incoherence. As consumers, we all recognize moments when things do not work together within the organizations we interact with, whether it is a technology issue or a customer service representative that has to transfer us to someone else who does not appreciate the context when the issue or opportunity hits them. As outsiders, we could care less about an organization’s internal structure; we simply experience whether it is working for us or not. On the other hand, when things are cohesive, we barely notice at all.

From a human perspective, there are eight needs that allow people to function in the world, and every business serves one or more of these needs. These include food, clothing, shelter, communication, transportation, entertainment, personal security, and healthcare. Every organization needs to reflect on the business they are in, who their customer is and what needs they are striving to meet, and how they will create an organization where human beings have enough space to be creative – because the need to create is fundamental to human existence. Creating coherence with human needs is essential.

Cohesive organizations achieve better outcomes.

Just as John Zachman asks what is the cost of non-conformance, we can ask what does it cost to not be cohesive? What is the price of fragmentation?

If an organization can complete a transformation with all the pieces working together during and after the journey, it may avoid the cost of extending resources for another year, or even complete two transformations in the time it would normally take to complete one. Perhaps it gets to market sooner and realizes its value proposition while it is still relevant. Cohesive organizations can reduce cost overruns, customer complaints, and delays in execution – even if these benefits are difficult to measure directly.

In addition, the vehicle through which we implement strategy is culture. Culture is our collective, tacit understanding that guides behavior in organizations. Culture is the net sum of how individuals behave, each with their own motivations that must be taken into account. The question becomes: do people have the capacities and competencies required to deliver the strategy? This requires a broad, holistic view of cohesion across all elements of the organization and the ability to design for them together to attain intended outcomes. Only then can an organization truly be cohesive and capable of executing strategy effectively.

We can sense cohesion when we see people having fun, enjoying themselves at work, and demonstrating trust and camaraderie – all while delivering results. Even aspects such as happiness and trust can be assessed and observed.

Reducing complexity and bureaucracy drives organizational value and human potential.

Given the unprecedented complexity organizations face today, it is worth asking: does complexity pose an equal or even greater threat than competition?

We are witnessing the beginning of a knowledge revolution. We have all the knowledge we need, but it must work together for its value to be realized. This requires rethinking how we design organizations and work. Leaders, architects, designers, and analysts must not only think about individual components, but about how those components fit together as a holistic system.

A significant challenge in organizations today is the pathology of bureaucracy. The “management tax” is estimated to be $3 trillion per year in the United States alone.[i]  This is not only an economic issue, but also a moral one. We are literally wasting people’s lives expecting them to perform work that does not matter or create value for the world.

At the same time, we are at a crossroads with technology. The convergence of new technologies creates enormous pressure and complexity for organizations. The question is whether we will use technology to double down on bureaucracy and add more layers of management, or whether we will use it to augment human effort and give people more agency, autonomy, and the ability to be creative and innovate.

Lack of cohesion starts with organizational design and incentives.

To design for cohesion, we need to examine the root causes embedded in how organizations are structured and how people are motivated.

People are neurologically wired to seek, acquire, and retain power. [ii] Principles can be a powerful tool to overcome these constraining dynamics. For example, if an organization adopts a principle of not using force, it removes command authority as an organizing and control mechanism. Work must be accomplished through request and response, and no one has the authority to tell someone else what to do.

Leaders are often measured on competing outcomes across functions. For example, sales may be measured on volume, customer service on satisfaction, and supply chain on efficiency, but no one other than the CEO is accountable for the outcomes and value ultimately delivered to the customer. An organization can only cohere effectively when it creates a clear line of sight to the ultimate customer for as many people as possible regardless of function or place in the org chart.

Cross-functional management does not come automatically to all. It is rarely taught or valued in management schools. When we do not look at organizations as a set of cohesive business systems we lack a shared view across them. Each department designs for themselves, based on departmental motivations, and no one designs for the flow of work across the organization out to the customers. Formal incentives and performance dashboards reinforce this functional fragmentation. Cohesion requires that organizations intentionally connect the dots across functions to deliver real outcomes.

Cohesion happens with intent, not by accident.

People are generally well-intentioned and want to do the right thing, but the work of organizations is often disconnected. Processes need to work, the right technical and human competencies and capabilities must be in place, and data must have integrity from end to end. This may seem like common sense, but organizations often fail because they are not intentional and diligent.

We need a cohesive view of how an entire organization works as a whole and we must bring people responsible for the different parts together around one common vision, one common outcome, and one common motivation. Each part of the organization must be aware of and aligned with the others.

One approach to creating cohesion and managing significant complexity is to focus on core principles. Morning Star, the largest tomato processor in the world, is governed by two core principles: don’t use force and keep commitments. Simplicity is essential to govern great complexity.

It is possible to design organizations as networks of competence rather than hierarchies of power. At Morning Star, peers continuously negotiate agreements on roles and responsibilities as autonomous agents striving for the same outcomes. People who are organized around clear principles with a clear mission and desire to serve the customer can operate in this networked way. Networks are a vision for the future that more and more people are migrating toward, and visionary leaders see their potential. Bayer AG, the pharmaceutical giant with roughly 100,000 employees, is another example of an organization that is organizing around self-managed teams. If we step outside of our current Industrial Revolution paradigms, this organic approach just makes sense and ultimately creates more adaptability for organizations and is better for the people working within them in many ways.

AI can enable better cohesion and flatten organizations.

The hope is that AI will act as an augmenting agent that connects dots and levels up organizations so that we optimize workflows and de-optimize hierarchies of power. If leveraged properly, AI can flatten organizations and connect processes and people from left to right, rather than top to bottom.

Of course, the human desire for power still poses a challenge. It remains to be seen whether AI will be deployed in a way that solidifies the hierarchy of power more than ever before, or whether it will be used to create a more human-centered approach that helps break down barriers.

Move into action with leadership and practical steps.

Addressing cohesion starts with recognizing the fragmentation that exists within an organization and then intentionally rethinking how the organization could work as a whole.

Ideally, this begins with leader(s) having a vision of a desired cohesive future state and inviting people into it with a path to follow, recognizing that this is a change journey requiring strong, ethical, and visible leadership commitment to steward the shift over time. The invitation might start with an all-company meeting or a focused session with top leaders and influencers over several days. The CEO might deliver a keynote as an invitation, followed by small group breakouts to design experiments that individuals take full accountability for over the next six to twelve months, with regular reporting back as part of an ongoing cycle of learning, reinforcement, and adjustment.

For large organizations, this approach sets cohesion in motion. It is not enough to just announce a transformation; people must be actively involved in shaping and running the experiments. Formal transformation programs can serve as vehicles for these experiments, tapping into the real power of the network and its collective intelligence.

At the same time, cohesion can still emerge through intentional action, even when it is not initiated from the top. One example is a transit organization where each transit mode operates as a separate company under a corporate umbrella. This organization is approaching its cohesion journey by aligning through good practice. Each of four organizations are changing their planning and prioritization processes and building capabilities which can be shared across multiple value streams. They are using the business architecture to identify what exists, where it resides, and where to invest ensuring the organization does not invest in the same capabilities multiple times across transit modes. This enables resource allocation to be directed to the right things as well as greater sharing and coordination. This approach creates momentum, starting with awareness of what is in place and then gradually moving towards common intention. This requires good business architecture for true business design – not just to build systems. It also requires a commitment to evolve and gain cohesiveness over a long journey.

Finally, shifts like this require addressing what people are measured on and have experience with. Because people are often accustomed to hierarchical structures, coaching may be needed to help them collaborate differently and rethink how work gets done across boundaries.

A new vision for the future is possible and there is increasing momentum.

There are encouraging signs of momentum. Business schools are showing greater openness to cohesion and more holistic approaches to processes, systems, culture, and design. At the same time, business leaders are increasingly recognizing that networks represent the vision for the future and visionary leaders are beginning to see their potential. This creates real opportunities, both for higher education to light the way and for introducing these ideas to executives who can envision a future state that harnesses cohesion, networked structures, and collective intelligence.

We know the elements of success: connected networks, adaptive mindsets, and strong customer focus. We can design a different future for ourselves, and there is growing momentum behind it. With AI, we also have an opportunity to accelerate this shift and make cohesion not just an aspiration, but an achievable and sustainable reality.

 

This article is based on our Digital Dialogue, Cohesion-Connected Transformation by Design (S03E17), December 2025

[i] Based on the work Gary Hamel and Michele Zanini, for example, see: https://www.garyhamel.com/sites/default/files/uploads/three-trillion-dollars.pdf.

[ii] Refer to the book The Winner Effect by neuroscientist Ian Robertson.

Tag/s:Business Transformation, Digital Enterprise, Ecosystem, Personal Development,