Viewing an investing firm through 3 lenses: Strategic Design Lens, Political Lens, and Cultural Lens.

 

Strategic design: How would you characterize the organization's strategy? What was the structure of the organization? Was the organization's structure aligned with its strategy?

 

• Politics and networks: Which position did you occupy in the organization? What were your sources of power (or lack thereof)? Who were you connected with? Who were the main actors in the organization and what were their sources of power? How would you characterize the networks of relationships within and outside the organization? How did the organization's structure correlate with the formal and informal networks at play?

 

• Culture:  What were the organization's values and vision? Was this vision aligned with the organization's strategy and structure? Were there any specific rituals, routines, implicit norms and symbols that you can identify? What meaning did they have for the organization's members? How did they contribute to strengthen/weaken relationships at the organization and its core mission?