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.

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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.

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

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Convening/Applications open

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.

Apply for a seat

Date: 08 Oct 2026 · 14:00 ET
Format: Working session · 24 seats · New York
Chairs: Erin Eatough · Jeff Wald
Tests: Thesis 003

What the room will test

If agents can execute end to end, the manager's remaining job is the design of interfaces among people, agents and exceptions. We will test whether the operators in the room recognize that description of their week.

Sent to every seat two weeks before

Thesis 003, The Coordination Advantage, v1.2
Thesis 003, Management Is the Constraint, v1.0
The standing counterargument by Rachel Okafor
Field study 01, Decision rights, redrawn

Seats are given to people who will disagree usefully

Chief operating officerNational logistics operator
Head of operationsFinancial services, contact operations
Chief people officerHealth system
FounderAgent infrastructure company
Labor economistUniversity research group
FellowsLindqvist, Rivera, Okafor, Tanaka

Published after

The synthesis, the disagreements, and any revisions the session causes are published here within two weeks of the date. Nothing said in the room is attributed without consent.

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