7. Org Design
Galbraith's STAR
The five-point design check
Use when
Any reorg conversation; testing whether structure change will help
Strategy
What are we designing FOR? The criteria
Structure
Units, layers, spans, where power sits
Processes
How work and decisions flow across the boxes
Rewards
What behaviour the incentives buy
People
Skills and leaders the design assumes
“Most reorgs redraw Structure and skip the other four points.”
How to use it
Use as the completeness test on any restructure proposal: if the deck has an org chart but nothing on process, rewards, and people implications, it is a boxes exercise, not a design. Strategy sets the design criteria explicitly so options can be scored rather than argued.
Card details
- Model type
- Grid
- Origin status
- Established
- Content last reviewed
- 28 July 2026
Origin
EstablishedJay Galbraith.