In Depth

An org-design masterclass from a Square GM | Saumil Mehta

Aug 31, 2023

01:14:40

Snipd AI

Saumil Mehta, GM of Square’s flagship point-of-sale business, discusses the principles of effective org design, signs your company needs a re-org, Square’s GM-led org design, and lessons on incentive-design, pricing, planning, and decision-making at scale. He also shares the step-by-step process behind a recent re-org at Square and 5 lessons from Alyssa Henry, CEO at Square.

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Quick takeaways

Effective org design principles: clarity of goals, separating design from human considerations, explainable charters, durability, and effective communication.

GM structure at Square: thematic and audience coherence, standalone product factors, and designated ownership.

Striking the balance between Square-first and P&L-first mentalities: GMs focus on P&L, while higher-level leaders advocate for overall success.

Achieving decentralization in decision-making: autonomy, annual planning, dependency management, good escalations, and open communication.

Tailoring organizational design approach based on multi-product or single-product context for success.

Commitment, iteration, and patience crucial for evolving and iterating on organizational design for long-term success.

Deep dives

Principles of Org Design

The podcast episode explores the six principles of good org design. The first principle emphasizes the need for absolute clarity of goals and problem statements when engaging in org design changes. It is crucial to have written goals and agreement across the team to avoid poorly executed reorgs. The second principle highlights the importance of separating design considerations from human considerations in the initial stages of org design. Starting with design considerations allows for objective decision-making before iterating with human considerations. The third principle emphasizes the need for teams to have explainable charters that are mutually exclusive and not result in a 'junk drawer team'. Designing for durability is the fourth principle, emphasizing the importance of creating an org structure that will last and avoid frequent changes. Lastly, effective communication is key in org design, and being intentional about communications from the beginning helps prevent problems down the road.

The Importance of Explainable Charters in Organizational Design

01:23

Company-Level Strategy and Addressing Choke Points

01:47

Incentive Systems and Organizational Design in Context

00:57

Introduction

3min

The Importance of Clarity in Org Design

27min

Evaluating Org Design: Spans of Control, Ratios, and Principles

2min

GM Roles and Ownership of Products

9min

Changes in Thinking and Leadership

8min

Factors to Consider when Implementing a GM Structure

3min

Designing an Organization: Boxes and Arrows

23min

Saumil Mehta is the GM of Square’s flagship point-of-sale business, as well as CRM, Square Staff, and Square Online. Before Square, Saumil was the Founder and CEO of LocBox, which raised over $5.1M, and helped offline/local businesses run multi-channel marketing campaigns, all from one universal dashboard. Saumil has now been a leader at Square for 8+ years, and has overseen many complex re-orgs. These experiences have shaped Saumil into an all-round org-design expert.

In today’s episode we discuss: