FFC NL 2025 TALKS

This is the story of a 20-year old Norwegian consulting company that took a plunge into the unknown world of applying Team Topologies in the wild, meaning applying its principles, patterns, and practices to the whole organization. Starting with the shutdown of their top management group! This is a story about being bold in strategy but mindful in execution.

Back in 2020 Capra was growing and starting to struggle with ensuing communication and decision-making challenges. A strategic decision was made to move from a traditional hierarchy to a network-oriented topology of teams that prioritized employee engagement and autonomy for improved decision making flow and heightened levels of responsiveness to industry and market changes.

Sounds great, but surely it was not a smooth linear ride, right? Right. Some challenges, like unclear priorities or responsibilities, were impossible to miss, like a giant Norwegian troll standing tall. Other challenges however, like lack of skills to take on (or psychological safety to decline) certain decentralized tasks, required a strong organizational sensing approach that has been key for Capra to successfully navigate and evolve their organization.

And what was the end result? The jury is still out but imagine working in an organization where any employee can propose and establish a new team and any team can openly recruit colleagues to join them. Imagine an organization where teams are disbanded on their own volition because they understand there’s a diminishing return of their contribution to the value stream they are part of.

Imagine teams openly collaborating (and deciding) on strategy and budgeting (with support from Strategy and Finance platforms). Imagine an HR organization that’s not hierarchical—where the HR manager isn’t your boss but plays a supporting role, dedicated to helping you thrive and develop in the company. Finally, imagine teams regularly changing their names and team APIs in response to communication and responsibilities changes and challenges.

Well, you don’t have to imagine actually. Attend this talk to hear Therese explain how all the above feels like in reality. And what insights Manuel took away from this story that could be applied to your own organization. You’ll see how a more humane approach - focused on sensing and addressing interaction and accountability challenges - can lead to faster flow and better outcomes.

Note: no trolls were harmed in the making of this presentation.