Authors: Nicolas Pascaud & Javier Camarasa Garcia

Introduction: A Legacy of Innovation

Founded in 2002, BeTomorrow has grown into a leading tech and digital innovation agency, housing over 90 experts across disciplines such as strategy, IT development, data, design, and marketing. Their primary focus is creating custom digital solutions tailored to the unique needs of various industries, including finance, health, and luxury. Since he became CEO of BeTomorrow, and now also as the President, Alexandre Ribeiro has emphasized the importance of human experience, which has been the cornerstone of the company’s growth and success.

The Evolution of BeTomorrow

Over the past two decades, BeTomorrow has established itself as a dynamic and forward-thinking organization, constantly evolving to meet the demands of the digital landscape. Their approach to innovation has been more and more people-centric, fostering an environment that values open communication, autonomy, and collaboration. However, as the company expanded, it began to face several challenges that necessitated a re-evaluation of its management practices.

The Quest for Organizational Clarity

In early 2023, BeTomorrow embarked on a journey to explore alternative management ways. The organization recognized that while its open and autonomous culture had fueled its success, it also led to certain inefficiencies. Key challenges include the need for clearer organizational structure, rapid scaling, and the management of information that was often concentrated in the hands of a few individuals.

To address these issues, BeTomorrow began researching various management approaches, including Sociocracy and Holacracy. In doing so, Betomorrow discovered the unFIX Model and it resonated most with the company’s needs, offering a flexible and human-centered approach to organizational design.

Experimenting with the unFIX Model: A Transformational Journey

Using the unFIX Model at BeTomorrow marked a significant shift in how the company approached organizational challenges. This model, which BeTomorrow affectionately refers to as the “unFIX Burger,” provided a framework for visualizing and clarifying the organization’s structure.

Clarification and Visualization

One of the primary benefits of the unFIX Model has been its ability to bring clarity to BeTomorrow’s organizational setup. The process of aligning everyone with the unFIX vocabulary and understanding happened organically, largely driven by groups of volunteers who were passionate both about contributing to the company's future, and the model's potential to drive change. These volunteers gathered in various settings to train, discuss, and apply the unFIX Model within the context of BeTomorrow.

Figure 1: unFIX Ignition Workshop at BeTomorrow

Through these efforts, the company has achieved greater transparency in its operations, enabling all Base members to better understand how the organization is currently working and how it might evolve in the future. The unFIX Model has also enhanced BeTomorrow’s ability to place the human experience at the center of everything it does, both internally and in its work with clients.

Defining Roles with Precision

Internally, BeTomorrow had a clear understanding of roles, but communicating these roles to clients was often challenging. Clients sometimes found it difficult to determine whom to approach within the teams, whether it be the Product Owner, Scrum Master, or other crew members. To address this, BeTomorrow is in the process of using the Role Attributes pattern from the unFIX Model, which clearly delineates the responsibilities of each team member.

The company is applying the Role Attributes pattern within the Value Stream Crews, combining them with the Delegation Levels pattern, and found substantial value in the process. This method not only clarified internal roles but also improved the external communication of these roles to clients, leading to a more efficient and transparent collaboration process. Encouraged by the success, BeTomorrow is now exploring how to extend these patterns to other crews and forums across the organization to ensure consistency and base-wide adoption.

Managing Tensions

In any organization, tensions and conflicts are inevitable, particularly when different perspectives collide. BeTomorrow is no exception. The unFIX Model provides a structured approach to addressing these challenges, fostering open discussions and enabling the organization to align on potential solutions.

By asking the right questions and facilitating conversations around these tensions, BeTomorrow is working on finding better ways of working both within teams and across the organization. They see it as a way to become even better in sustaining and improving both internal harmony and the company’s overall effectiveness and efficiency.

Enhancing Coordination Amid Rapid Growth

BeTomorrow has experienced significant growth in recent years, with a 37% increase in size over the past two years alone, according to LinkedIn Insights. This rapid expansion has made it increasingly difficult to maintain consistent communication across the organization. More people means more opportunities, but it also introduces complexity in terms of coordination and information sharing.

To address these challenges, BeTomorrow turned to unFIX Initiatives, a tool designed to improve alignment across the company. By focusing on aligning everyone around the right priorities, rather than simply increasing the workload, BeTomorrow expects to continue nurturing, or even, increasing, its agility and focus, even as it scales.

The Road Ahead: Embracing Continuous Feedback

BeTomorrow’s journey with the unFIX Model is ongoing, with the company continually refining its approach based on feedback and evolving needs. One of the key goals moving forward is to further integrate the unFIX patterns into the company’s DNA, enabling BeTomorrow’s consultants and coaches to support clients more effectively.

Recommendations for the Future

As BeTomorrow continues to evolve, several key recommendations can help the company maximize the benefits of the unFIX Model:

1. Measures and Metrics Patterns: Experimenting with these patterns can help establish a baseline of the company’s current business indicators. This will allow BeTomorrow to evaluate the impact of each unFIX experiment and make data-driven decisions.

2. Strategic Dimension Patterns: These patterns can be leveraged to align the entire organization around a unified strategic direction. By using these exercises, BeTomorrow can empower its leadership to share information more effectively and ensure that everyone becomes a strategist in the organization and has all the necessary information to make decisions faster than ever before.

3. Innovation Vortex Pattern: Given BeTomorrow’s focus on innovation, and exploring the Innovation Vortex pattern could help the company refine its processes and become even more effective in driving innovation for its clients.

Conclusion: A Partnership Made in Heaven

This case study is a testament to the collaborative spirit of BeTomorrow and its commitment to continuous improvement and innovation. This case study highlights the ongoing partnership and commitment to the unFIX Model.

As BeTomorrow continues its journey, the lessons learned and the recommendations provided will serve as a roadmap for navigating the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead. With the unFIX Model as a guiding model, BeTomorrow is well-positioned to continue its legacy of innovation, delivering exceptional value to its clients and creating a positive impact on the digital landscape.

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This article has been co-created by BeTomorrow and tandi, an independent consultancy firm. The main collaborators from BeTomorrow are Nicolas Pascaud, Doriane Ribeaut, Farouk Choulak, Thibault Baleinier, and Anais Parenteau. The main collaborator from tandi is Javier Camarasa Garcia.

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BeTomorrow: A Legacy of Innovation