Dynamic Work Design: Bridging Manufacturing and Knowledge Work

Welcome to episode #995 of Six Pixels of Separation - The ThinkersOne Podcast.

Nelson Repenning has built his career at MIT Sloan and Shift Gear by asking a simple but haunting question: why do so many smart, capable organizations fail to get the right work done? In his new book, There’s Got to Be a Better Way, Nelson (along with his co-author, Don Kieffer) introduces dynamic work design: a practical framework that helps leaders move beyond broken systems and toward better execution. In this conversation, we explore the five principles behind this approach: solving the right problem, structuring for discovery, connecting the human chain, regulating for flow and visualizing the work. We talk about how businesses become addicted to heroics and strategic ambiguity, and how this culture often traps people in cycles of fire-fighting and busywork that look productive but deliver little. Nelson shares stories from his experience applying these principles in casinos, hospitals, biotech labs, and even homeless shelters (environments where urgency is real, resources are stretched and clarity can make or break outcomes). We also discuss how leadership often overcomplicates productivity with reorgs and top-down mandates, instead of fixing the structural design flaws that block meaningful progress. Nelson is quick to point out that the work isn’t just about doing more: it’s about doing it better… and that better means aligning actual workflow with the outcomes organizations care about. He reflects on his early days as a student at MIT and why dynamic work design is less a management fad and more a necessary shift in how modern teams operate. If you’re tired of watching your best people get burned out chasing KPIs while nothing fundamental improves, this episode offers a clearer path. We also get into the tension between change management and change design, and why the latter matters more in a world flooded with noise, complexity and well-intentioned but ineffective solutions. This is a sharp and focused take on work culture from someone who’s spent a lifetime challenging the systems beneath it. Enjoy the conversation…

• Running time: 1:00:22.
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Chapters:

(00:00) - Introduction to Nelson Repenning. (02:55) - The Journey to System Dynamics. (05:55) - Bridging Theory and Practice in Organizations. (09:14) - The Challenge of Success and Anomalies. (11:54) - Dynamic Work Design: From Manufacturing to Knowledge Work. (15:06) - The Role of AI in Knowledge Work. (18:12) - Manufacturing's Future and National Security. (20:58) - The Integration of Design and Manufacturing. (32:01) - The Complexity of Manufacturing and Supply Chains. (33:14) - Dynamic Work Design: A New Approach. (35:34) - Identifying and Solving the Right Problems. (39:28) - The Disconnect Between Management and Ground Realities. (42:14) - Adapting Management Practices for Hybrid Work. (45:33) - Visual Management in Knowledge Work. (52:44) - Regulating Flow to Prevent Overload. (58:41) - The Psychological Hurdles of Change.