Why Playbooks Fail

Every restructuring starts with a playbook. You've seen it: the consulting deck with the three phases, the implementation timeline, the expected savings.

Here's what they don't tell you: the playbook assumes you can pause the organization while you fix it. You can't. You're rebuilding the engine while the plane is in the air.

The sequencing problem

The playbook says: diagnose, then plan, then execute. Reality says: you're executing on day one because the organization can't pause. The people who know how the system works are the same people whose roles you're restructuring. You need them to help you dismantle their own jobs.

How do you navigate that honestly?

What I learned

At ARRI, I had to make outsourcing decisions before I had full information. Waiting for full information was the failure mode — the organization was bleeding capability every month I delayed.

The lesson isn't "move faster." It's "decide which decisions are reversible and which aren't, and spend your analysis budget accordingly."