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Chaebol is a family-run conglomerate in South Korea. Such groups have been at the heart of its rapid industrial development over many years, and tower over almost every area of business: from stockbroking to theme parks; from supermarkets to heavy weapons.

After having participated in about 15 different re-design projects over the years, one key observation is that the complexity of the re-design challenge often exceeds the ability of individual managers and teams. There are simply too many known and unknown variables and too many shifting parameters for the human brain to make logical and consistent decisions. At the same time, I have observed the relative scarcity of analytical tools. Critical decisions affecting thousands of employees are sometimes based largely on intuitive reasoning.

I rarely come across leaders who advocate wholesale organizational redesign or use it as a way to support their people and business. When organizational strategy changes, structures, roles, and functions should be realigned with the new objectives. This doesn't always happen, with the result that responsibilities can be overlooked, staffing can be inappropriate, and people - and even functions - can work against each other.