172 Your Org Chart Is a System with Todd Hagopian

What if your org chart is actually lying to you?Those neat boxes and reporting lines suggest work flows predictably from one function to the next. But watch what happens when a customer complaint lands. It bounces between departments while everyone optimizes for their own metrics. The customer waits. The system fails.In this episode, we sit down with Todd Hagopian, author of The Unfair Advantage, to explore why treating your organization as a system changes everything. Todd breaks down how silos form from good intentions, why decision rights matter more than reporting structures, and how small companies can use tools like RACI charts before problems emerge rather than after. You'll learn why your best performer might be your biggest liability, how to follow the "deer trails" your team has already created, and why adding resources is almost never the answer to a dragging function.Whether you're building your first team or untangling years of accumulated confusion, this conversation will reshape how you think about organizational design.Keywords: org chart design, systems thinking, organizational structure, RACI framework, decision making, silos, team structure, Todd Hagopian, business systems, operational efficiency