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Wiring the Winning Organization: Liberating Our Collective Greatness through Slowification, Simplification, and Amplification
How do some organizations break away from the pack while others fall further behind? After researching the successes and failures of organizations from the last 150 years, award-winning authors Gene Kim and Steven J. Spear, DBA, have unlocked the key to success. In their eagerly awaited book, Kim and Spear bring to light a new theory of high-achieving organizations. They examine how companies solve the most important problems better, faster, and easier than their competitors by quickly and regularly closing the gap between aspirations and real-world success. This book shows companies that are struggling to perform how to achieve the continual greatness seen in the best of the best. This groundbreaking theory of organizational advantage details three simplification, slowification, and amplification. These create coherence across large, complex organizations, empowering them to architect enviable success in the market.
372 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 21, 2023
271 people are currently reading
941 people want to read
About the author
Gene Kim
14 books1,015 followersGene Kim is a multiple award-winning CTO, Tripwire founder, Visible Ops co-author, IT Ops/Security Researcher, Theory of Constraints Jonah, a certified IS auditor and a rabid UX fan.
He is passionate about IT operations, security and compliance, and how IT organizations successfully transform from "good to great."
He is passionate about IT operations, security and compliance, and how IT organizations successfully transform from "good to great."
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
November 29, 2023
I'm afraid I found this book too simplistic. The authors make no distinction between complicated vs. complex problems, suggesting that complex problems can be simplified with just three simplification methods, ignoring the insights from systems thinking and complexity science that complexity cannot be reduced, only ignored. They also make no distinction between incrementing (learning from delivery) vs. iterating (learning from experiments), lumping these two together as if they are one approach.
There is nothing wrong with the insights and stories as all of it has already been covered many times in other books. It is the authors' own simple "theory" that I find rather unconvincing.
There is nothing wrong with the insights and stories as all of it has already been covered many times in other books. It is the authors' own simple "theory" that I find rather unconvincing.
December 29, 2023
First thing that I recall in relation to anything Gene Kim is The Phoenix Project which is among my favourite IT books, there is actually a good plot, drama and conflict that engages the reader and also teaches a few important principles. In a way it's like Dilbert as you can find analogue from your organization to almost every character and event. When coming from this then this book places on the "boring side" (like DevOps Handbook which contains valuable information but takes some real willpower and effort to get through). "Read" the book in audiobook format and would say that it really does not work and I would have really disappointed without the 100+ pages accompanied PDF which filled the gap on somewhat acceptable level. I was hoping for a book that would be easy enough to teach/improve organizing work for people who have had limited exposure in this domain so far but I would not recommend it to this group. The model on it's own is relatively basic, but it requires huge amount of meta-level thinking and awareness of all the existing theories and best practices to "see through" the logic that authors are trying to explain. I was also slightly disturbed by the fact that authors claimed they have created something completely novel (resembling "theory of everything") while the examples used for illustration were either old classics (Apollo mission, Colombia Space Shuttle, Moon landing, Toyota KATA, Wright Brothers) or mainstream (Amazon, NOKIA, Netflix) which are already widely covered elsewhere. What I did like was that when you do have the experience already then it contains a good glossary of IT strategy/operational frameworks/terminology and their interaction with organization performance. In summary it's not that easy to get to this point, but the book does provide a different way of thinking that could lead to more efficient solutions.
From "danger zone" to "winning zone" in 3 steps:
1. slowification of the environment in which the problem-solving occurs to make problem-solving easier; ("thinking fast and slow"). Slowification expands upon this concept by placing an emphasis on creating opportunities to absorb feedback that fosters self-reflection and self-correction (Peter Senge "Fifth Discipline")
2. simplification of products, processes, and systems through the use of modularization, incrementalization, and linearization to make the problems themselves easier; and
3. amplification to make it more obvious that problems are occurring so they can be seen and solved.
#Modularization# simplifies problems by partitioning large, complex systems (the elements of which have highly intertwined interdependencies) into systems that are more modular in structure, with each module having clearly defined boundaries and established conventions for interactions with other modules.
#Incrementalization# simplifies problem-solving by converting a few, complex experiments (in which many factors are being tested simultaneously) into many smaller, faster, simpler experiments (in which fewer factors are being tested individually). It does this by partitioning what is already known and validated from what is novel and new, and by adding to the novelty in many small bits rather than in a few large bites.
#Linearization# sequences tasks associated with completing a larger set of work so that they flow successively, like a baton being passed from one person to the next. What follows is standardization for those sequences, for exchanges at partition boundaries, and for how individual tasks are performed. This creates opportunities to introduce stabilization, so that when a problem occurs, it triggers a reaction that contains the problem and prevents it from enduring and from its effects from spreading. This allows for self-synchronization, so the system is self-pacing without top-down monitoring and direction.
#Amplification# In the absence of fast, frequent, and useful feedback, systems of any type—technological, biological, social, psychological—will experience instability and even collapse. Systems with reliable feedback that triggers appropriate reactions are stable, resilient, and agile
in even the most arduous situations. In the long term, systems that have adequate feedback and are capable of adaptation will improve, sometimes in dramatic ways, both by direction and magnitude.
Three layers of work:
*Layer 1 - Person doing the work
*Layer 2 - Maintaining tooling and instrumentation used for the work
*Layer 3 - Managing social circuitry, flow of ideas and information around tools and work
The book also discusses transactional VS developmental leadership in lenght, although the distinction is simple then in real life its application is not really straightforward or always possible.
From "danger zone" to "winning zone" in 3 steps:
1. slowification of the environment in which the problem-solving occurs to make problem-solving easier; ("thinking fast and slow"). Slowification expands upon this concept by placing an emphasis on creating opportunities to absorb feedback that fosters self-reflection and self-correction (Peter Senge "Fifth Discipline")
2. simplification of products, processes, and systems through the use of modularization, incrementalization, and linearization to make the problems themselves easier; and
3. amplification to make it more obvious that problems are occurring so they can be seen and solved.
#Modularization# simplifies problems by partitioning large, complex systems (the elements of which have highly intertwined interdependencies) into systems that are more modular in structure, with each module having clearly defined boundaries and established conventions for interactions with other modules.
#Incrementalization# simplifies problem-solving by converting a few, complex experiments (in which many factors are being tested simultaneously) into many smaller, faster, simpler experiments (in which fewer factors are being tested individually). It does this by partitioning what is already known and validated from what is novel and new, and by adding to the novelty in many small bits rather than in a few large bites.
#Linearization# sequences tasks associated with completing a larger set of work so that they flow successively, like a baton being passed from one person to the next. What follows is standardization for those sequences, for exchanges at partition boundaries, and for how individual tasks are performed. This creates opportunities to introduce stabilization, so that when a problem occurs, it triggers a reaction that contains the problem and prevents it from enduring and from its effects from spreading. This allows for self-synchronization, so the system is self-pacing without top-down monitoring and direction.
#Amplification# In the absence of fast, frequent, and useful feedback, systems of any type—technological, biological, social, psychological—will experience instability and even collapse. Systems with reliable feedback that triggers appropriate reactions are stable, resilient, and agile
in even the most arduous situations. In the long term, systems that have adequate feedback and are capable of adaptation will improve, sometimes in dramatic ways, both by direction and magnitude.
Three layers of work:
*Layer 1 - Person doing the work
*Layer 2 - Maintaining tooling and instrumentation used for the work
*Layer 3 - Managing social circuitry, flow of ideas and information around tools and work
The book also discusses transactional VS developmental leadership in lenght, although the distinction is simple then in real life its application is not really straightforward or always possible.
December 23, 2024
Might be more beneficial for people working outside of Agile/DevOps/Lean/TPS.
November 23, 2025
"Wiring the Winning Organization" positions itself as a transformative framework for rethinking organizational management through three core mechanisms: slowification, simplification, and amplification. Gene Kim, known for his previous contributions to the DevOps movement, and Steven J. Spear, an MIT researcher, propose that organizational excellence doesn't emerge from abundant resources or exceptional talent, but from the quality of what they call "social circuitry," the processes, procedures, and norms that enable people to do their work effectively.
Despite its ambitious goals and some interesting insights on leadership, the book disappoints due to repetitive concepts and an overly instructive style that underestimates the reader. Much of the content has already been thoroughly covered in previous management literature, such as lean manufacturing and systems thinking.
The Three-Layer Framework: Familiar Territory
The authors organize work into three layers:
- Layer 1 (Technical Objects): The actual things being worked on—products, services, technical artifacts
- Layer 2 (Tools and Instrumentation): The technologies and tools used to manipulate Layer 1 objects
- Layer 3 (Social Circuitry): The processes, procedures, norms, and routines that coordinate human effort
This taxonomy is well-organized but lacks novelty, essentially repackaging 1960s sociotechnical systems theory with modern examples from software development and manufacturing. The notion that organizations are sociotechnical systems, intertwining technology and social organization, is not groundbreaking in 2024.
The Three Mechanisms: Rebranding Known Concepts
Slowification: Planning and Practice Over Panic
The central idea is that problem-solving should take place in controlled environments, such as planning and practice, rather than in high-pressure situations. The authors distinguish between "fast thinking" (System 1 - heuristics and habits) and "slow thinking" (System 2 - deliberative reasoning), referencing Kahneman's "Thinking, Fast and Slow."
Examples include Top Gun's pilot training, NASA's simulations, and Deming's PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act) cycle. The recommendation is to allow for reflection, stress-test plans, hold dress rehearsals, and pause performance when issues arise.
However, this essentially reiterates concepts long recognized in lean manufacturing, Agile retrospectives, and military after-action reviews. The term "slowification" adds little beyond a catchy label.
Simplification: Breaking Down Complexity
Simplification encompasses three techniques:
- Incrementalization: Partition the novel from the known; add novelty in small bites rather than giant leaps
- Modularization: Break large, integrated systems into smaller, coherent pieces with well-defined interfaces
- Linearization: Create sequential workflows with standardization, stabilization, and self-synchronization (the "4 S's": sequentialization, standardization, stabilization, self-synchronization)
The Amazon case study, where Jeff Bezos mandated service-oriented architecture and famously decreed "anyone who doesn't do this will be fired," illustrates modularization. The pharmaceutical company example shows linearization in action.
The problem: These are standard principles from software architecture (loose coupling, high cohesion), manufacturing (cellular production), and project management (work breakdown structures). The authors acknowledge this implicitly by citing Don Reinertsen, Conway's Law, and the Toyota Production System, but then present these ideas as if they constitute a fresh synthesis.
Amplification: Making Problems Visible
Amplification is about creating feedback mechanisms that make problems obvious, immediate, and actionable. When issues arise, they should be loudly signaled, swarmed, contained, and resolved with lessons learned captured and shared.
The classic example is Toyota's andon cord, which allows any worker to stop the production line when they spot a problem. The authors also reference control systems theory and Shannon's information theory to explain why feedback must have adequate frequency, speed, detail, and accuracy.
The problem: Again, this is established doctrine from quality management (statistical process control), lean manufacturing (jidoka), and organizational learning (single-loop vs. double-loop learning, as described by Argyris and Schön). The terminology changes, but the underlying concepts remain unchanged.
What's Actually Interesting: Leadership Perspectives
While the overall framework feels derivative, the book does offer some valuable observations about leadership that are worth extracting:
1. Leaders as Architects of Social Circuitry
The authors reframe leadership away from command-and-control ("I say; you do") toward creating conditions for success. Leaders are those who design Layer 3 (social circuitry) to support people's efforts to solve Layer 1 and Layer 2 problems. This is less about supervision and more about "continuously monitoring the conditions in which people are working and then adapting and adjusting so those conditions are most conducive to success."
This perspective treats management as system design rather than people management, a subtle but significant shift. The leader's primary job becomes removing obstacles, clarifying interfaces, and ensuring coherence across work units.
2. Center-Out vs. Top-Down Leadership
The distinction between top-down and center-out leadership is one of the book's better contributions. Top-down leaders centralize data and decisions, develop solutions for the whole system, and push them out. Center-out leaders distribute information widely, delegate authority to local teams to solve their unique problems, and then synthesize local lessons into collective wisdom.
This maps onto the incrementalization principle: local teams handle what they understand in their context, while the center focuses on systemic issues. It's a more nuanced view of distributed decision-making than typically found in management literature, though it still echoes earlier work on subsidiarity and federated organizations.
3. The All-at-Once Leader vs. The Incremental Leader
The comparison between leaders who try to solve everything simultaneously (suffering from cognitive overload) versus those who partition problems and focus on novel elements is instructive. The "all-at-once leader" must hold the entire system in their head and coordinate nearly everyone. The "incremental leader" protects their cognitive capacity by redesigning processes and focusing intense attention only on novel portions of problems.
This speaks to the practical reality of executive bandwidth and offers a framework for thinking about where leaders should invest their limited attention.
4. Learning Leadership vs. Compliance Leadership
The authors differentiate between compliance leadership, which relies on unquestioning obedience to orders ("Yes, Admiral"), and learning leadership, which encourages challenging and improving plans ("Yo, Admiral"). Learning leaders create a psychologically safe environment that allows team members to express their true thoughts and facilitates open communication.
The Battle of Midway serves as an example, contrasting the U.S. Navy's learning culture with the Imperial Japanese Navy's compliance culture. This highlights how feedback loops can significantly affect organizational performance.
Fundamental Weaknesses
- Lack of Novelty: The book recycles well-known concepts from lean manufacturing, systems thinking, and Agile methodologies, presenting them as new ideas without substantial innovation.
- Excessive Repetition and Length: The content is overly bloated, with repetitive explanations and case studies, stretching over 200 pages when it could be condensed into a shorter format. The structure artificially separates interconnected ideas.
- Oversimplification of Implementation: It views organizational transformation mainly as a design issue, ignoring the complex political and cultural challenges involved. Important aspects like resistance and leadership challenges are insufficiently addressed.
- Limited Discussion of Trade-offs: The authors treat the mechanisms as inherently positive without discussing the trade-offs, such as risks of analysis paralysis or integration challenges, and lack guidance on making critical decisions during implementation.
- Weak Theoretical Foundation: The book borrows concepts from various disciplines but fails to create a coherent theoretical model. It lacks empirical support for its claims and reads more like a practical guide than a rigorous theoretical work.
What to Read Instead
For readers seeking deeper or more original insights, consider:
- On systems thinking: "Thinking in Systems" by Donella Meadows (more rigorous, more insightful).
- On organizational learning: "The Fifth Discipline" by Peter Senge or "Knowledge and Competitive Advantage" by Dorothy Leonard-Barton.
- On lean principles: "The Toyota Way" by Jeffrey Liker or original works by Taiichi Ohno
On cognitive biases and decision-making: "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman (the source material, not the derivative).
- On software architecture: "Building Evolutionary Architectures" by Ford, Parsons, and Kua or "Team Topologies" by Skelton and Pais.
- On practical improvement: "The High-Velocity Edge" by Steven Spear (ironically, Spear's earlier solo work is tighter and more insightful).
Despite its ambitious goals and some interesting insights on leadership, the book disappoints due to repetitive concepts and an overly instructive style that underestimates the reader. Much of the content has already been thoroughly covered in previous management literature, such as lean manufacturing and systems thinking.
The Three-Layer Framework: Familiar Territory
The authors organize work into three layers:
- Layer 1 (Technical Objects): The actual things being worked on—products, services, technical artifacts
- Layer 2 (Tools and Instrumentation): The technologies and tools used to manipulate Layer 1 objects
- Layer 3 (Social Circuitry): The processes, procedures, norms, and routines that coordinate human effort
This taxonomy is well-organized but lacks novelty, essentially repackaging 1960s sociotechnical systems theory with modern examples from software development and manufacturing. The notion that organizations are sociotechnical systems, intertwining technology and social organization, is not groundbreaking in 2024.
The Three Mechanisms: Rebranding Known Concepts
Slowification: Planning and Practice Over Panic
The central idea is that problem-solving should take place in controlled environments, such as planning and practice, rather than in high-pressure situations. The authors distinguish between "fast thinking" (System 1 - heuristics and habits) and "slow thinking" (System 2 - deliberative reasoning), referencing Kahneman's "Thinking, Fast and Slow."
Examples include Top Gun's pilot training, NASA's simulations, and Deming's PDSA (Plan-Do-Study-Act) cycle. The recommendation is to allow for reflection, stress-test plans, hold dress rehearsals, and pause performance when issues arise.
However, this essentially reiterates concepts long recognized in lean manufacturing, Agile retrospectives, and military after-action reviews. The term "slowification" adds little beyond a catchy label.
Simplification: Breaking Down Complexity
Simplification encompasses three techniques:
- Incrementalization: Partition the novel from the known; add novelty in small bites rather than giant leaps
- Modularization: Break large, integrated systems into smaller, coherent pieces with well-defined interfaces
- Linearization: Create sequential workflows with standardization, stabilization, and self-synchronization (the "4 S's": sequentialization, standardization, stabilization, self-synchronization)
The Amazon case study, where Jeff Bezos mandated service-oriented architecture and famously decreed "anyone who doesn't do this will be fired," illustrates modularization. The pharmaceutical company example shows linearization in action.
The problem: These are standard principles from software architecture (loose coupling, high cohesion), manufacturing (cellular production), and project management (work breakdown structures). The authors acknowledge this implicitly by citing Don Reinertsen, Conway's Law, and the Toyota Production System, but then present these ideas as if they constitute a fresh synthesis.
Amplification: Making Problems Visible
Amplification is about creating feedback mechanisms that make problems obvious, immediate, and actionable. When issues arise, they should be loudly signaled, swarmed, contained, and resolved with lessons learned captured and shared.
The classic example is Toyota's andon cord, which allows any worker to stop the production line when they spot a problem. The authors also reference control systems theory and Shannon's information theory to explain why feedback must have adequate frequency, speed, detail, and accuracy.
The problem: Again, this is established doctrine from quality management (statistical process control), lean manufacturing (jidoka), and organizational learning (single-loop vs. double-loop learning, as described by Argyris and Schön). The terminology changes, but the underlying concepts remain unchanged.
What's Actually Interesting: Leadership Perspectives
While the overall framework feels derivative, the book does offer some valuable observations about leadership that are worth extracting:
1. Leaders as Architects of Social Circuitry
The authors reframe leadership away from command-and-control ("I say; you do") toward creating conditions for success. Leaders are those who design Layer 3 (social circuitry) to support people's efforts to solve Layer 1 and Layer 2 problems. This is less about supervision and more about "continuously monitoring the conditions in which people are working and then adapting and adjusting so those conditions are most conducive to success."
This perspective treats management as system design rather than people management, a subtle but significant shift. The leader's primary job becomes removing obstacles, clarifying interfaces, and ensuring coherence across work units.
2. Center-Out vs. Top-Down Leadership
The distinction between top-down and center-out leadership is one of the book's better contributions. Top-down leaders centralize data and decisions, develop solutions for the whole system, and push them out. Center-out leaders distribute information widely, delegate authority to local teams to solve their unique problems, and then synthesize local lessons into collective wisdom.
This maps onto the incrementalization principle: local teams handle what they understand in their context, while the center focuses on systemic issues. It's a more nuanced view of distributed decision-making than typically found in management literature, though it still echoes earlier work on subsidiarity and federated organizations.
3. The All-at-Once Leader vs. The Incremental Leader
The comparison between leaders who try to solve everything simultaneously (suffering from cognitive overload) versus those who partition problems and focus on novel elements is instructive. The "all-at-once leader" must hold the entire system in their head and coordinate nearly everyone. The "incremental leader" protects their cognitive capacity by redesigning processes and focusing intense attention only on novel portions of problems.
This speaks to the practical reality of executive bandwidth and offers a framework for thinking about where leaders should invest their limited attention.
4. Learning Leadership vs. Compliance Leadership
The authors differentiate between compliance leadership, which relies on unquestioning obedience to orders ("Yes, Admiral"), and learning leadership, which encourages challenging and improving plans ("Yo, Admiral"). Learning leaders create a psychologically safe environment that allows team members to express their true thoughts and facilitates open communication.
The Battle of Midway serves as an example, contrasting the U.S. Navy's learning culture with the Imperial Japanese Navy's compliance culture. This highlights how feedback loops can significantly affect organizational performance.
Fundamental Weaknesses
- Lack of Novelty: The book recycles well-known concepts from lean manufacturing, systems thinking, and Agile methodologies, presenting them as new ideas without substantial innovation.
- Excessive Repetition and Length: The content is overly bloated, with repetitive explanations and case studies, stretching over 200 pages when it could be condensed into a shorter format. The structure artificially separates interconnected ideas.
- Oversimplification of Implementation: It views organizational transformation mainly as a design issue, ignoring the complex political and cultural challenges involved. Important aspects like resistance and leadership challenges are insufficiently addressed.
- Limited Discussion of Trade-offs: The authors treat the mechanisms as inherently positive without discussing the trade-offs, such as risks of analysis paralysis or integration challenges, and lack guidance on making critical decisions during implementation.
- Weak Theoretical Foundation: The book borrows concepts from various disciplines but fails to create a coherent theoretical model. It lacks empirical support for its claims and reads more like a practical guide than a rigorous theoretical work.
What to Read Instead
For readers seeking deeper or more original insights, consider:
- On systems thinking: "Thinking in Systems" by Donella Meadows (more rigorous, more insightful).
- On organizational learning: "The Fifth Discipline" by Peter Senge or "Knowledge and Competitive Advantage" by Dorothy Leonard-Barton.
- On lean principles: "The Toyota Way" by Jeffrey Liker or original works by Taiichi Ohno
On cognitive biases and decision-making: "Thinking, Fast and Slow" by Daniel Kahneman (the source material, not the derivative).
- On software architecture: "Building Evolutionary Architectures" by Ford, Parsons, and Kua or "Team Topologies" by Skelton and Pais.
- On practical improvement: "The High-Velocity Edge" by Steven Spear (ironically, Spear's earlier solo work is tighter and more insightful).
April 6, 2024
This book is a rare gem in the realm of organizational development and management - one that achieves a balance of theoretical depth and practical applicability with remarkable finesse. Not surprising for the authors of books like The Pheonix Project, the Unicorn Project, and Chasing the Rabbit. The concepts of slowification, simplification, and amplification are ones I’ll be immediately applying to my day to day, family, and work organization processes. Loved it and would recommend it to anyone / everyone.
April 12, 2024
A lot of this isn’t new, but describing what makes all of the practices and frameworks successful in unleashing human potential in a simple to describe way is very useful. It helped me understand converging theories I was less familiar with that unleash human potential rather than squander it.
And the example about the simple couch-moving and why schedules fail in coordination heavy efforts will be immediately recognizable by anyone feeling the frustration of “agile is dead” or locally optimized organizations struggling to move beyond silos and wasteful processes.
And the example about the simple couch-moving and why schedules fail in coordination heavy efforts will be immediately recognizable by anyone feeling the frustration of “agile is dead” or locally optimized organizations struggling to move beyond silos and wasteful processes.
November 20, 2023
Good collection of ideas about how to setup an organization for success. It had me thinking about the approaches I’ve taken to process / system improvement in a different light. In this view, it is all about designing the environment in which people operate, rather than focusing on the specifics of what they do.
Blog post coming soon.
Note: this was a review copy in advance of the book release.
Blog post coming soon.
Note: this was a review copy in advance of the book release.
February 4, 2024
Stellar assessment of what the best organizations and complex projects have in common. Research backed with interesting use cases. Provides a framework and mental model distilled from these commonalities that is accessible and pragmatic — highly recommended if you deal with any complex type project or software build that has many team dependencies and enjoy applied systems thinking.
January 8, 2026
Easy and broad introductory synthesis.
Simplistic treatment on complexity and other key points for experienced practicioners.
Simplistic treatment on complexity and other key points for experienced practicioners.
December 22, 2023
The cover of this book says:
Liberating our collective greatness through slowification, simplification and amplification.
I love that phrase "liberating our collective greatness". It reminds me of a one CEO I worked for who stood before the whole company, on the eve of a merger, to express his wish that we should come together (as part of the merger) and our collective energy and enthusiasm would create a new and better company. As I later learnt during the merger integration purpose, wishes would not be enough, a lot of hard work and wisdom was required to create a new (and ultimately greater) company.
Like that merger 17 years before, I approached this book with enthusiasm. I was familiar with Gene Kim's other work, like DevOps Handbook, Accelerate and the Phoenix/Unicorn Project and I had also read Steven Spear's The High Velocity Edge, plus I had watched a number of Steven Spear's presentations at the DevOps Enterprise Summit so I had a fair idea of what to expect. Steven Spear has written and taught extensively about operational excellence and becoming a market leader, while Gene Kim is a legendary figure in the DevOps world and his books bring out the human side of technology and change.
I believe this is a book that will influence a generation of leaders with its theory of performance management. It will be read by many and sit on a number of bookshelves. After being read, I hope that its lessons get applied ... widely.
The book is broadly structured around 3 concepts: slowification; simplification; and amplification. These 3 concepts are applied at what Kim and Spear refer to as Layer 3 problems, where Layer 1 problems are the work itself, Layer 2 are the tools and instrumentation to do the work and Layer 3 is the social circuitry. This book is primarily concerned with optimising Layer 3 in order to solve problems across all 3 layers.
The authors refer many times throughout the book to the organisation as a sociotechnical system, which dovetails nicely to my own area of study and work. What I specifically like is the way the authors have simplified the sociotechnial system to 3 layers. This is obviously in reference to solving problems across the organisation. It is (as Gene Kim will say in interviews) a parsimonious model - simple enough to represent and diagnose the cases presented.
I'd say this is where the book excels - I counted 26 case studies through the book. Ranging from NASA space missions through Toyota to university sailing teams and the Boston Marathon, there is a ton of interesting information through the case studies alone. Interestingly very few from the companies that regularly attend the DevOps Enterprise Summit (DOES) that Gene Kim runs.
The model that the authors use to embody performance is that of the Winning Zone and the Danger Zone. Many of the case studies concern organisations transitioning from the Danger Zone to the Winning Zone, through the use of Slowification, Simplification and Amplification. Some of them do not and they are stories of horrendous crashes and the loss of life.
Through the book Kim and Spear build up their Theory of Performance through these case studies. Starting with Slowification in chapters 4 to 6, where they turning planning and practice into a way to build up knowledge through an organisation so that it can perform better when stakes are high. Through Simplification in chapters 7 to 9 where they discuss modularisation and isomorphism, breaking down organisations and problems so that they can be solved. To Amplification in chapter 10 which brings the previous learnings together to show how an organisation (in this case Toyota) can institutionalise superior performance.
3 simple ideas (Slowification, Simplification and Amplification), 3 layers of performance, the model of Danger Zone and Winning Zone, the transitions between them and 26 case studies - it might be simple to summarise but if everyone could do this we would have higher performance and fewer accidents. Go out and wire (or rewire) your organisation.
Liberating our collective greatness through slowification, simplification and amplification.
I love that phrase "liberating our collective greatness". It reminds me of a one CEO I worked for who stood before the whole company, on the eve of a merger, to express his wish that we should come together (as part of the merger) and our collective energy and enthusiasm would create a new and better company. As I later learnt during the merger integration purpose, wishes would not be enough, a lot of hard work and wisdom was required to create a new (and ultimately greater) company.
Like that merger 17 years before, I approached this book with enthusiasm. I was familiar with Gene Kim's other work, like DevOps Handbook, Accelerate and the Phoenix/Unicorn Project and I had also read Steven Spear's The High Velocity Edge, plus I had watched a number of Steven Spear's presentations at the DevOps Enterprise Summit so I had a fair idea of what to expect. Steven Spear has written and taught extensively about operational excellence and becoming a market leader, while Gene Kim is a legendary figure in the DevOps world and his books bring out the human side of technology and change.
I believe this is a book that will influence a generation of leaders with its theory of performance management. It will be read by many and sit on a number of bookshelves. After being read, I hope that its lessons get applied ... widely.
The book is broadly structured around 3 concepts: slowification; simplification; and amplification. These 3 concepts are applied at what Kim and Spear refer to as Layer 3 problems, where Layer 1 problems are the work itself, Layer 2 are the tools and instrumentation to do the work and Layer 3 is the social circuitry. This book is primarily concerned with optimising Layer 3 in order to solve problems across all 3 layers.
The authors refer many times throughout the book to the organisation as a sociotechnical system, which dovetails nicely to my own area of study and work. What I specifically like is the way the authors have simplified the sociotechnial system to 3 layers. This is obviously in reference to solving problems across the organisation. It is (as Gene Kim will say in interviews) a parsimonious model - simple enough to represent and diagnose the cases presented.
I'd say this is where the book excels - I counted 26 case studies through the book. Ranging from NASA space missions through Toyota to university sailing teams and the Boston Marathon, there is a ton of interesting information through the case studies alone. Interestingly very few from the companies that regularly attend the DevOps Enterprise Summit (DOES) that Gene Kim runs.
The model that the authors use to embody performance is that of the Winning Zone and the Danger Zone. Many of the case studies concern organisations transitioning from the Danger Zone to the Winning Zone, through the use of Slowification, Simplification and Amplification. Some of them do not and they are stories of horrendous crashes and the loss of life.
Through the book Kim and Spear build up their Theory of Performance through these case studies. Starting with Slowification in chapters 4 to 6, where they turning planning and practice into a way to build up knowledge through an organisation so that it can perform better when stakes are high. Through Simplification in chapters 7 to 9 where they discuss modularisation and isomorphism, breaking down organisations and problems so that they can be solved. To Amplification in chapter 10 which brings the previous learnings together to show how an organisation (in this case Toyota) can institutionalise superior performance.
3 simple ideas (Slowification, Simplification and Amplification), 3 layers of performance, the model of Danger Zone and Winning Zone, the transitions between them and 26 case studies - it might be simple to summarise but if everyone could do this we would have higher performance and fewer accidents. Go out and wire (or rewire) your organisation.
April 1, 2024
I was trying to explain why this book means so much to me. I was outlining how "social circuitry" can make an environment either ideal for solving a problem or incredibly hostile to it. They responded with "sure, like we've been saying for years: people, process, and tools." I thought "sure, but that doesn't do it justice" and it took me a while to understand why it felt so much more profound to me. Here's my best attempt at explaining it now.
WtWO doesn't talk about the power of process, it provides a thoughtful, repeatable framework to have the chance to solve process problems. For instance, we commonly see people, process, tools drawn as a Venn diagram. Now, I see them as layered. In the same way the air around us makes it possible to breathe, social circuitry makes it possible to power the system of thinking. That's a totally different way to think about it.
Similarly, anyone in corporate environments hears regularly how we need to keep things "simple," but I've never been able to know what it means beyond making it "better (in my opinion)." WtWO gives discrete parameters around simplification that, in the months since reading it, I have applied a dozen times at work with incredible effect.
In short, I didn't expect to learn more than how Gene Kim keeps evolving his thinking about the world, but I left with a wildly applicable mental model that's already made me a more effective leader. I still can't say "the danger zone" without singing it, but every other part is now part of my vocabulary and I'm thankful for it.
WtWO doesn't talk about the power of process, it provides a thoughtful, repeatable framework to have the chance to solve process problems. For instance, we commonly see people, process, tools drawn as a Venn diagram. Now, I see them as layered. In the same way the air around us makes it possible to breathe, social circuitry makes it possible to power the system of thinking. That's a totally different way to think about it.
Similarly, anyone in corporate environments hears regularly how we need to keep things "simple," but I've never been able to know what it means beyond making it "better (in my opinion)." WtWO gives discrete parameters around simplification that, in the months since reading it, I have applied a dozen times at work with incredible effect.
In short, I didn't expect to learn more than how Gene Kim keeps evolving his thinking about the world, but I left with a wildly applicable mental model that's already made me a more effective leader. I still can't say "the danger zone" without singing it, but every other part is now part of my vocabulary and I'm thankful for it.
January 15, 2025
I would recommend the book to anyone who either leads a (sub)organization or often thinks about processes and how they could be done better. However, there are some points to consider..
Even though Gene Kim is one of the authors, the book is not focused on software development - the ideas apply to probably any industry you can think of. That's definitely a good thing, but if you come from IT (like me) and that is your primary motivation for reading this book, I would probably start with an easier one: Modern Software Engineering by David Farley. David explained some of the ideas in a more digestible way IMHO. And also, the book Team Topologies would be a great addition. With those 2 books, you would probably cover most of the ideas from Wiring the Winning Organization and in addition, you would get the focus on Software Development.
On the bright side, I am really happy I've read it because it deepened my understanding of Agile, Lean Startup, how manufacturing problems relate to Software Development, and it already helped me define better processes at work. It forced me to think about some basic things again and frame them in a wider context, which I find beneficial.
I give it 4 stars because some parts were either repetitive or difficult to digest (I struggled with Linearization). Otherwise, great book!
Even though Gene Kim is one of the authors, the book is not focused on software development - the ideas apply to probably any industry you can think of. That's definitely a good thing, but if you come from IT (like me) and that is your primary motivation for reading this book, I would probably start with an easier one: Modern Software Engineering by David Farley. David explained some of the ideas in a more digestible way IMHO. And also, the book Team Topologies would be a great addition. With those 2 books, you would probably cover most of the ideas from Wiring the Winning Organization and in addition, you would get the focus on Software Development.
On the bright side, I am really happy I've read it because it deepened my understanding of Agile, Lean Startup, how manufacturing problems relate to Software Development, and it already helped me define better processes at work. It forced me to think about some basic things again and frame them in a wider context, which I find beneficial.
I give it 4 stars because some parts were either repetitive or difficult to digest (I struggled with Linearization). Otherwise, great book!
June 1, 2024
"Wiring the Winning Organization" is an easy-to-read book tailored for leaders within organizations. The ideas presented are clear and appear to be well-supported. The book focuses on three primary concepts:
- Slowfication
- Simplification
- Amplification
The author skillfully integrates these concepts with established practices such as the Toyota Production System, Agile Software Development, Lean Startup, Resilience Engineering, and Conway’s Law. Additionally, the book uses compelling stories to demonstrate the power of applying these concepts in real-life situations.
Another key idea presented in the book is the differentiation of work layers within an organization:
- Layer 1: The person performing the work.
- Layer 2: The person maintaining the tools used by Layer 1.
- Layer 3: The social circuitry that facilitates the flow of ideas and information.
Overall, this book effectively organizes existing ideas under these concepts and presents them in a clear and understandable manner, making it a valuable read for organizational leaders looking to enhance their strategies and operations.
- Slowfication
- Simplification
- Amplification
The author skillfully integrates these concepts with established practices such as the Toyota Production System, Agile Software Development, Lean Startup, Resilience Engineering, and Conway’s Law. Additionally, the book uses compelling stories to demonstrate the power of applying these concepts in real-life situations.
Another key idea presented in the book is the differentiation of work layers within an organization:
- Layer 1: The person performing the work.
- Layer 2: The person maintaining the tools used by Layer 1.
- Layer 3: The social circuitry that facilitates the flow of ideas and information.
Overall, this book effectively organizes existing ideas under these concepts and presents them in a clear and understandable manner, making it a valuable read for organizational leaders looking to enhance their strategies and operations.
January 22, 2024
I appreciate Gene Kim's work and have listened to every Idealcast episode (sometimes multiple times), have attended DOES, have read all of his books, and also appreciate Steve Spear. My expectations for this book were quite high because of this.
The ideas were good and I appreciate the attempt to create a framework for guiding principles that cover the lessons learned from Lean, Agile, DevOps, TPS, etc. The case studies were too shallow though, and same for the analysis of the influences above.
Sadly, the book didn't come with any new revelations for me. No eureka moments. I've already internalized the lessons from Idealcast and such, and have heavy influence from Sooner Safer Happier, Team Topologies, Agile Conversations, and Principles of Product Development Flow. This book wasn't as actionable as those, which was surprising.
The best note from it for me was to treat Fight/Flight/Freeze/Appease response as a prompt to engage Slow thinking.
The ideas were good and I appreciate the attempt to create a framework for guiding principles that cover the lessons learned from Lean, Agile, DevOps, TPS, etc. The case studies were too shallow though, and same for the analysis of the influences above.
Sadly, the book didn't come with any new revelations for me. No eureka moments. I've already internalized the lessons from Idealcast and such, and have heavy influence from Sooner Safer Happier, Team Topologies, Agile Conversations, and Principles of Product Development Flow. This book wasn't as actionable as those, which was surprising.
The best note from it for me was to treat Fight/Flight/Freeze/Appease response as a prompt to engage Slow thinking.
January 17, 2025
I absolutely loved the content, the simplicity in which they describe simplification, Slowification, amplification enables not only the reader to digest the concepts but explain them to others as well.
That being said, it does feel like this was rushed to print, there were SEVERAL grammatical errors and publishing errors i.e. referencing the wrong page for where a diagram could be found. On pg 273 table C.1 is said to be found on pg 274 but table C.1 is on 276, minor but on pg 275 it references that table C.1 can be found on pg 276. I only remember the specifics of that because it's towards the end but there are a few more errors like this throughout the book.
Please don't let the publishing errors distract from the content itself though. Could not recommend this boom enough to anyone who is above a manager in an organization, where the problems you begin to solve necessitate level 3 work rewiring.
That being said, it does feel like this was rushed to print, there were SEVERAL grammatical errors and publishing errors i.e. referencing the wrong page for where a diagram could be found. On pg 273 table C.1 is said to be found on pg 274 but table C.1 is on 276, minor but on pg 275 it references that table C.1 can be found on pg 276. I only remember the specifics of that because it's towards the end but there are a few more errors like this throughout the book.
Please don't let the publishing errors distract from the content itself though. Could not recommend this boom enough to anyone who is above a manager in an organization, where the problems you begin to solve necessitate level 3 work rewiring.
July 21, 2024
I was expecting a lot from the latest book from Gene Kim but it seems the mojo is getting away :(
With his co-writer, he tries to give some sort of framework to create high performing organisations base on three concepts : slowification, simplification and amplification.
If the framework is somewhat interesting and gives good insight on how to create good organisation, I think there are too broad and simplistic to give the real "secret" of high performing orgs.
The study case, contrary to the book Accelerate, are not a scientific way to understand this orgs but more a way to illustrate the ideas (mostly fiting them into the story).
One hundred pages would have been sufficient :)
With his co-writer, he tries to give some sort of framework to create high performing organisations base on three concepts : slowification, simplification and amplification.
If the framework is somewhat interesting and gives good insight on how to create good organisation, I think there are too broad and simplistic to give the real "secret" of high performing orgs.
The study case, contrary to the book Accelerate, are not a scientific way to understand this orgs but more a way to illustrate the ideas (mostly fiting them into the story).
One hundred pages would have been sufficient :)
October 7, 2025
For a book that talks about simplification, it's ironically complex in it's language. The author's style and voice is very academic, from citing other papers to using phrases like "produced adverse impact" instead of "got poor results."
However, if you're willing to dig through the dense language, there are some great ideas in this book.
The best part for me was the specific case studies.
It's not for small organizations. All the stories and tactics are for big, complex organizations. But if you're in a complex organization with multiple moving parts, this book could help you figure out why operations is struggling and give you ideas to fix it.
However, if you're willing to dig through the dense language, there are some great ideas in this book.
The best part for me was the specific case studies.
It's not for small organizations. All the stories and tactics are for big, complex organizations. But if you're in a complex organization with multiple moving parts, this book could help you figure out why operations is struggling and give you ideas to fix it.
December 23, 2023
Sense making to help more enterprises win
I’m very impressed with how Gene and Steve have managed to interrelate so many different works from different fields. Thank you for your efforts!
Personally, as a software engineer I finally have explanations of issues I see in my organisation (social circuitry) which are very similar to software development problems. I’m seeing this as a great catalyst for bridging with non-technical leaders.
I’m very impressed with how Gene and Steve have managed to interrelate so many different works from different fields. Thank you for your efforts!
Personally, as a software engineer I finally have explanations of issues I see in my organisation (social circuitry) which are very similar to software development problems. I’m seeing this as a great catalyst for bridging with non-technical leaders.
January 15, 2024
There is not too much that is new here, but Kim (as always) does a good job incorporating a lot of industry concepts into a single working model. I particularly like his focus on leadership responsibility for a working L3 level. In my experience, that is the most critical and under-recognized dimension of safe and efficient delivery.
I look forward to speaking with executives at my company to see if they would like to apply some of these concepts!
I look forward to speaking with executives at my company to see if they would like to apply some of these concepts!
August 19, 2024
I really liked some other Kim books, so didn't think my time would be wasted reading another. I finished this book and missed the message. I expect when I read Gene Kim, that he'll have gems that I would tell coworkers are obviously things we need to do. They talk about slowification, modularization, amplification, stableization, then layer them in a blender, and profit! The appendix starts over trying to explain these concepts anew, as if they know they're failing to deliver their point. I think they know what they're trying to say, but I don't.
September 10, 2024
As someone who has already read The goal, Phoenix Project, books on Lean, etc, there was a lot of familiar stuff in the book. So in a way I did not learn so many new things, but I liked how the authors have boiled down learning from many approaches and methodologies into a few principles. It is quite easy to remember slowification, simplification and amplification and I imagine coming back to this book many times when facing organizational challenges.
December 17, 2023
The book presents a very simple but powerful model of slowification (to drive learning), simplification (to reduce intertwined complexity) & amplification (to act on rather than avoid issues) through engaging stories which brings it all to life.
The result should be simplified overheads (reduced coordination and expedition) and better results for the term and the organisation.
The result should be simplified overheads (reduced coordination and expedition) and better results for the term and the organisation.
January 8, 2024
I heard it on the audiobook. Not sure if it's me and I was distracted, or the way the book is written, but I feel like I would need to read the physical book to give a better review. Listening to it, and trying to keep track of the definitions throughout the book had me lost a few times. I'll have to reread it to give it a better review.
March 15, 2024
A Great Addition to My Leadership Library
Gene Kim & Steve Spear do a great job of pulling together so many excellent systems & tools of practice today (eg Agile, DevOps, TPS) and illustrate how important it is ensure how your company, conditions and leadership are wired in order to have systems that operate effectively.
Gene Kim & Steve Spear do a great job of pulling together so many excellent systems & tools of practice today (eg Agile, DevOps, TPS) and illustrate how important it is ensure how your company, conditions and leadership are wired in order to have systems that operate effectively.
May 5, 2024
These writers deliver a well thought and described theory, based on many case studies. Their semi-academical writing kind of hinders the readability, but gives the content more credibility. In itself the content is short and to the point, the book gets its size from the extra material and descriptions.
July 10, 2024
It is a nice package containing a lot of examples of successful wiring in organizations, but unfortunately I did not hear anything new that can be put to practice that is not already written in other IT revolution books. Authors found new words to explain best practices already described in their previous books.
December 24, 2024
I’m not sure on this one. I read it over a long period of time with many gaps in between and so I had no flow with the book.
I found it hard work at times and felt it could have used simplification much more.
Saying that, I think there is a great many gems within. I will give the blinklist version a try next and may read it again but only when I have some concentrated time available.
I found it hard work at times and felt it could have used simplification much more.
Saying that, I think there is a great many gems within. I will give the blinklist version a try next and may read it again but only when I have some concentrated time available.
December 20, 2023
It now seems that any book with Gene Kim's name should be read without further consideration.
The relatively slow drill really connects well to the three topics outlined in the subject.
While it really is about an organization, the individual lessons apply to smaller teams perfectly.
The relatively slow drill really connects well to the three topics outlined in the subject.
While it really is about an organization, the individual lessons apply to smaller teams perfectly.
January 24, 2024
Amazing book with very relevant examples
This book was released just as I changed roles and had to lead a new team in an area I had very little experience. It helped shape my thoughts around some of he tweaks we are currently implementing, starting with ‘amplification…’
This book was released just as I changed roles and had to lead a new team in an area I had very little experience. It helped shape my thoughts around some of he tweaks we are currently implementing, starting with ‘amplification…’
April 4, 2024
Good insights on how to wire organizations' social circuitry to improve performance. It is almost a meta-framework that aggregates principles from agile, lean startup, systems thinking, and others into three simple-to-understand buckets.
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