Cleararchy — Origins

Cleararchy originated out of a growing experiential realization that dismantling hierarchy is easier said than done. That scaling agility did not necessarily mean scaling collective ownership. That unclear ownership was often the cause of organizational dysfunction.

This was first described in the chapter, “Accountability”, of the book, Agile IT Org Design. It also described early versions of tools that support the adoption of Cleararchy — accountability maps and decision records.

Enterprises Project — a joint initiative of Harvard Business Review  and RedHat (IBM)— listed the book as a must-read for CIOs. It was nominated to the list by John Marcante, CIO of Vanguard Inc, The book is also featured in a digital leaders reading list via nomination by Nick Williams, Managing Director, Consumer Digital at Lloyds Banking Group. Other endorsements and testimonials are available here.