The Problem and Opportunity of Organizational Debt

What is ‘Organizational (Org.) Debt’? As a rule, startups and companies in hypergrowth have two traits in common – high ambiguity and a fast pace. These are true regardless of product or industry category. While these traits affect all aspects of running a company – business strategy, commercial plan, product roadmap – it is most acutely felt in organizational/people issues – hiring, rewards, promotions, development etc. This is because once a startup reaches product-market fit, or when the company is ready to expand to multiple markets/geographies, reacting to customer or product issues takes precedence over everything else. It leaves very…...