I’ve spent thirty years figuring out why some organizations work and most don’t.
That work has taken me from RAND Corporation, where I did some of my earliest research on organizational performance, to the agency world, where I built AgencyAgile and worked with over 200 agencies on the structural problems that make growth feel harder than it should. That research and practice became UNMANAGED — a book about what actually drives performance in knowledge organizations, which won several first-place awards and got me in front of a lot of agency CEOs who were tired of the same consulting answers.
Now I run Better Company, where I work with agency and consultancy leaders on the same problems at a deeper level. And I’m writing a second book — When the Machine Talks — about AI, judgment, and what machines can’t replace.
This site is where I think out loud. You’ll find essays on agency operations, AI and its limits, organizational structure, and leadership. Some of it connects directly to the work I do with clients. Some of it is just where my thinking is going.
If something here is useful to you, that’s the point.
If you want to talk about what it means for your organization, give me a shout at Better Company.
— Jack A. Skeels