Clearer Thinking with Spencer Greenberg

Do organizations have to get slower as they grow? (with Alex Komoroske)

Dec 28, 2022

Alex Komoroske, a seasoned product manager from Google, dives into the intriguing dynamics of organizational growth. He discusses why companies often slow down as they expand and draws fascinating parallels with slime molds that thrive in decentralized systems. The conversation explores the balance between top-down and bottom-up decision-making, emphasizing the need for flexibility and fostering serendipity to enhance creativity. Komoroske suggests that embracing unexpected opportunities can significantly improve innovation and collaboration in the workplace.

01:09:15

Creator website

Episode guests

Alex Komoroske

Highlights

AI Chapters

Episode notes

Doorbells in Jungle: A Portfolio Approach to Experimental Product Development

00:50

Creating Resilient Orgs: Serendipity, Autonomy, and Creative Flexibility

01:59

Coordination Challenges Grow Superlinearly Based on Required Information Throughput

01:43

Pluralistic Ignorance in Organizational Strategy

01:30

Intro

2min

Navigating Growth: Communication Challenges in Organizations

17min

Embracing Flexibility: Lessons from Slime Molds in Organizational Growth

2min

Navigating Organizational Dynamics

19min

Embracing Serendipity in Business Strategy

7min

Navigating Challenges in Large Organizations and the Replication Crisis in Psychology

4min

Navigating Innovation and Risk in Organizations

17min

Final Thoughts on Personal Growth and Community Engagement

3min

Read the full transcript here.

Why do organizations get slower as they grow? What can organizations learn from slime molds? What are the advantages of top-down organization versus bottom-up organization, and vice versa? How can organizations encourage serendipity? What use are doorbells in jungles? Why is it so hard for organizations to set a "north star" that is at once plausible, coherent, and good?

Alex Komoroske has over a decade of experience in the tech industry as a product manager focusing on platform- and ecosystem-shaped problems. While at Google, he worked on Chrome's Web Platform PM team, Augmented Reality in Google Maps, and Ambient Computing. He's fascinated by how to navigate the emergent complexity within organizations to achieve great results. You can find some of his public writing at komoroske.com.

Staff

Spencer Greenberg — Host / Director
Josh Castle — Producer
Ryan Kessler — Audio Engineer
Uri Bram — Factotum
Janaisa Baril — Transcriptionist
Miles Kestran — Marketing

Music

Affiliates

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