Back to Frameworks
TPL-28Strategy

Reorg Planning Canvas

Reorgs are one of the highest-leverage and highest-damage moves a leader makes. This canvas slows the design down enough to catch the reorg that was really a hiring problem, or a strategy problem, in disguise.

The problem, in one paragraph

What is the reorg solving? If you can't name it in a paragraph, don't reorg yet.

Options considered

At least three shapes, including 'don't reorg, do something else.' The best reorg is often not a reorg.

The proposed shape

  • New teams, scopes, and reporting lines
  • Named leaders for each team
  • What moves, what stays

Human impact

For every person changing manager, changing team, or losing scope — how you'll tell them, in what order, and what they need to hear.

Rollout & measurement

When it takes effect, what changes on day one vs. day 30, and what signal (retention, delivery, morale) tells you the reorg worked.

Common pitfalls

  • Reorging around people problems you should just address directly.
  • Announcing before the human conversations. Never.
  • No success measure. Then you'll do it again in 9 months.

Leadership in your inbox.

Leadership lessons, frameworks, and field notes for modern engineering teams. No motivational fluff.

Trouble seeing the form?Subscribe on Beehiiv instead

Free. One email a week. Unsubscribe anytime.