We perceive organizations
as living organisms
In organizations, people come together within structures to pursue a common purpose. Human behavior, organizational structures, and purpose continuously influence one another.
Every organization evolves over time—through intentional design as well as through unintentional actions and inaction. Purpose and Strategy, People and Leadership, and Structures and Processes constitute the model’s core organizational dimensions. Rather than operating in isolation, they shape the organization through their interaction.
This interplay gives rise to recurring collective behavioral patterns. Taken together, they form the organization’s culture in practice. The influence runs both ways: How the organizational dimensions are configured and interact shapes the culture. That culture, in turn, influences how people behave, how structures function in practice, and how strategy is understood and executed. What matters, therefore, is how well the dimensions are aligned. As in an orchestra, it is not only the individual musicians who matter, but how well they play together.
Every organization operates within a specific external environment. External developments and stakeholders create demands, opportunities, and areas of tension to which the organization must continually adapt. Internal fit must therefore be complemented by external fit: the organization must remain relevant and responsive to its environment—or, to extend the metaphor, its symphony must also resonate with the outside world.
