What remedies should we seek for organizations which cannot learn, adapt and create? Most leaders imagine it to be something they lack, and add chief officers, innovation labs and digital business units to their companies. The better strategy is to remove things that already exist—impediments to the behaviors that sustain innovation, growth and a culture of continuous improvement.

1. Eight Antipatterns of Work in the
Knowledge Economy.
Leadership | Teams | Individuals www.patternsofwork.com

2. Antipattern #1
Middle Management
Org charts and the middle managers they describe are antithetical to
establishing and sustaining highly productive teams.
Leadership | Teams | Individuals www.patternsofwork.com

3. Antipattern #2
The Org Chart
Invented more than 150 years ago, the Org Chart visualizes a
method of coordinating corporate activity through a pyramid of
management layers. Emptied of useful function, today the Org Chart
sustains bad behaviors.
Leadership | Teams | Individuals www.patternsofwork.com

4. Antipattern #3
Executive-Driven Innovation
It is tempting to direct innovation from the top. But executive-driven
innovation creates a culture where pleasing the boss beats
understanding the customer.
Leadership | Teams | Individuals www.patternsofwork.com

5. Antipattern #4
The Rock Star
The myth of an individual genius is pervasive. In reality, it cloaks the
value of the more fundamental engine of growth—the team.
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6. Antipattern #5
Busy Work
It’s hard to say how new knowledge gets made. It’s even harder to
put a value on it. This confounds workers and managers alike—and
is one reason why organizations become overrun with busy work.
Leadership | Teams | Individuals www.patternsofwork.com

7. Antipattern #6
Planning
It may once have made sense to devote so much time and effort to
planning activities in advance. Today, planning is deployed most
effectively as a way to avoid taking action.
Leadership | Teams | Individuals www.patternsofwork.com

8. Antipattern #7
The Agency
Agencies are not inherently bad. But for companies that are
blocked, agencies can become an all-too convenient way to avoid
the nurturing of essential creativity from within.
Leadership | Teams | Individuals www.patternsofwork.com

9. Antipattern #8
The Big Reveal
The big reveal is a dramatic presentation of a complete creative
product that has “gone dark” during its development and therefore
blocked or rejected the value of stakeholder, sponsor, and customer
feedback.
Leadership | Teams | Individuals www.patternsofwork.com