Organisational Ambidexterity

Here’s the challenge every successful organisation faces: How do you excel at today’s business whilst simultaneously inventing tomorrow’s? Adaptive organisations have cracked this code through what we call “organisational ambidexterity” – the ability to run and reinvent at the same time.

The Dual Challenge Think of it as using both hands equally well, but for different tasks. Your right hand perfects what you already do – refining products, optimising processes, squeezing out inefficiencies. This is where your revenue comes from today. Meanwhile, your left hand explores what’s next – experimenting with new technologies, testing emerging markets, pursuing opportunities that might not pay off for years.

Most organisations are naturally good at one or the other. They’re either brilliant at operations but miss new opportunities, or they’re innovation powerhouses that struggle to deliver consistently. The magic happens when you can do both.

Making It Real In practice, this means creating different rhythms within the same organisation. Your core business might run on targets and proven processes, whilst your innovation capabilities explore new products with permission to fail. It’s not about choosing between stability and change – it’s about orchestrating both.

The tricky part? Balancing the two. Adaptive organisations don’t leave this to chance. They deliberately structure their investments, ensuring they’re not just feeding today’s success but actively building tomorrow’s.

Why This Matters Now In stable markets, you could afford to be one-handed. Focus on efficiency, perfect your operations, and ride steady growth. But today’s markets don’t stay still. Customer expectations shift overnight. New competitors emerge from unexpected places. Technologies that seemed decades away suddenly arrive.

Organisations with true ambidexterity don’t just react to these changes – they’re ready for them. When markets shift, they’ve already been exploring the new territory. When disruption hits, they’ve got experiments running that could become their next core business.

Part of a Bigger Picture Organisational Ambidexterity provides the strategic flexibility that makes everything else work. Combined with Product Orientation (keeping you customer-focused) and Fast Improvement Cycles, it creates organisations that can be both stable and dynamic.