When organisations talk about performance, they often focus on efficiency
But efficiency without adaptability is fragile.
The future belongs to those that can balance both – stability and innovation, structure and agility.
At The Sixsess Consultancy, this balance is captured in the third discipline of the PEOPLE Change Management and Leadership Framework – Optimise.
PEOPLE stands for:
P – People-Centric Leadership
E – Empowerment
O – Optimise
P – Purpose-Driven Vision
L – Learning
E – Embedding Change
Optimisation in this context doesn’t mean cutting costs or speeding up processes; it means aligning systems, people, and culture so that energy flows rather than collides.
The Power of the Hybrid System
With this model, in every organisation, there are two engines: the hierarchy and the innovation network.
The hierarchy provides stability – consistent service, predictable processes, and risk control.
The innovation network drives change – volunteers from across teams who collaborate, test ideas, and drive transformation.
The most effective organisations don’t choose one over the other; they run both simultaneously.
At The Sixsess Consultancy, we’ve seen the results.
In one S&P 500 company – HMS- led by Bill Lucia, over 65% of employees participated in the innovation network at any given time.
This created a living system where improvement and routine coexisted – a structure that adapted without collapsing.
Optimisation and AI Integration
Artificial intelligence has made optimisation both easier and harder.
It can analyse bottlenecks, predict trends, and automate workflows.
Yet, without human oversight, it can also hard-code inefficiency or bias.
Optimisation is not about surrendering decisions to algorithms; it’s about designing human-machine partnerships that amplify judgement.
Practical examples include:
– Using AI analytics to identify workflow friction, then convening human teams to address cultural causes.
– Deploying automation to stabilise repetitive work, freeing people for creative problem-solving.
– Leveraging predictive data to test hypotheses through cross-functional innovation cells.
AI gives organisations insight.
Optimisation ensures that insight becomes improvement.
The Six Dimensions of Organisational Flow
From our consulting work, six key dimensions define an optimised organisation:
– Clarity – people understand the mission and their role in it.
– Connection – teams collaborate across silos.
– Capability – skills match strategic ambition.
– Consistency – operations run reliably, even under stress.
– Creativity – employees are encouraged to innovate safely.
– Cadence – the organisation moves at the right rhythm for its market.
When these six flow together, performance becomes self-reinforcing.
Leadership’s Role in Optimisation
Optimisation is not a technical project – it’s a leadership mindset.
Leaders create the guardrails between the hierarchy and the innovation network, ensuring each supports the other.
This requires:
– Trust – allowing teams to innovate without fear of blame.
– Boundaries – defining what can be changed and what must remain stable.
– Visibility – ensuring progress and feedback are transparent.
The outcome is agility without chaos, structure without stagnation.
Learning from the Aviation Model
The aviation industry exemplifies this balance.
Airline operations depend on strict process discipline for safety – yet innovation continues through advanced data, simulation, and cross-functional collaboration.
This dual system ensures that when change happens, it happens safely and deliberately.
The Sixsess Consultancy helps organisations apply this same principle across sectors – designing hybrid operating systems that evolve continuously, not episodically.
Next in the Series
In Post 5/8 – Purpose-Driven Vision, we’ll explore how clarity of purpose transforms culture, ensuring that optimisation serves meaning, not just metrics.
Because without purpose, even the most efficient system eventually loses direction.
Explore more:
The Sixsess Consultancy Home –
PEOPLE Change Management & Leadership Framework Course –
https://sixsess.org/training/people-change-management-leadership-framework-course/
The Just Great People Podcast –
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL1mLL4YkJ9LEUPsjaZwBLAjoR-h8YEXpu
Keywords:
Optimise, The Sixsess Consultancy, PEOPLE Change Management and Leadership Framework, Barry Eustance, Organisational Agility, Hybrid Systems, Innovation Networks, Hierarchy and Innovation, AI Integration, Organisational Flow, Change Management, Human-Machine Collaboration, Business Transformation, Leadership and Optimisation, Organisational Design, Performance Improvement, Operational Excellence, Cultural Transformation, Empowerment, Organisational Learning, Strategic Agility, Hybrid Work, Process Innovation, System Thinking, Continuous Improvement, Leadership Development, Human-Centred Organisations