thesis.

Library Theses Research Arguments Field studies Institute People Convenings

The shelf. Seven volumes, one per problem the institute intends to solve.

Three carry an opening argument and a confidence mark. Four are published as the agenda so the framing can be argued with before the work starts. Pull one out to read it.

In focus

003 · Management Is Becoming an Operating System

Numbered positions on how work is changing. Each one sourced, challenged, and reviewed on a published date.

The register is the institute's memory. A thesis can be revised or retired, but it is never deleted; the previous claim stays on the record with what changed and why.

Filter

All · Argued · On the agenda

Original studies that test a thesis against evidence, with methods and limitations published in full.

Research is heavier than commentary. Every study names the thesis it supports or challenges, the sample, and what it does not establish.

Latest

Research 05 · The Agent Ownership Study

Essays, interviews, responses and field notes. Every one a claim someone can disagree with.

Lighter than research, still tied to the library. An argument that moves a thesis is linked to the revision it caused.

This week

Augment, don't replace · Jeff Wald

Theses applied inside real organizations, for two to four quarters, with the outcome reported against a written baseline.

This is where a position earns or loses confidence. Every field study ships with its limitations. Organizations are described, not named, until they consent.

Latest

Moving people, not skills · a 9,000-person manufacturer

How the work moves from signal to impact, and the standards that hold it to account.

Seven stages, from noticing a pattern to measuring what changed in the world. Plus evidence, counterargument, revision and independence standards, published in full.

Fellows and contributors, listed by what they have authored, challenged, and revised.

A profile here is a record of intellectual contribution, not a biography. Challengers are credited alongside authors.

Working sessions built to test a live thesis, with the question published before and the synthesis after.

Small rooms, real disagreement, and a written record of which positions moved.

Next

What is management for when coordination becomes software? · 08 October

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Convenings

Small rooms, real disagreement.

Working sessions built to test a live thesis. The question and the evidence go out beforehand. The synthesis follows, including where the room did not agree and which positions moved.

Next: 08 Oct 2026
Format: Working sessions · 20 to 24 seats
Published after: Synthesis · disagreements · revisions

Next convening/Testing Thesis 003

What is management for when coordination becomes software?

A working session with researchers, operators and technology leaders. The question and the evidence go out beforehand. The synthesis follows, including where the room did not agree.

Read the pre-read

Date: 08 Oct 2026 · 14:00 ET
Format: Working session · 24 seats · New York
Chairs: Erin Eatough · Jeff Wald

What is management for when coordination becomes software?

Tests Thesis 003 · Chairs: Erin Eatough, Jeff WaldFormatWorking session · 24 seats · New YorkApplications open 19Nov 2026

Who owns the exception?

Tests Thesis 004 · Chairs: Rachel Okafor, Mika TanakaFormatWorking session · 20 seats · OnlineAnnounced 12Jun 2026

Skills or contexts?

Tests Thesis 007 · Chairs: Erin Eatough, Priya NatarajanFormatWorking session · 22 seats · LondonSynthesis published 03Mar 2026

The unit of design.

Tests Thesis 001 and 005 · Chairs: Jeff Wald, Tomasz WierzbickiFormatWorking session · 24 seats · New YorkSynthesis published