Changing the Landscape at Arcane: Squad Structure

In November 2019, digital marketing firm Arcane was six months into the conversion of its London, Ontario, headquarters into an organization of “agile” squads (small, self-managed teams)—a radical departure from the discipline-based silos that had served the agency since its beginning in 2011. Chief executive officer Lindsay Schneider and chief operating officer David Bunce, the architects of the change, were preparing an update for Arcane’s Ownership Group the following week on the status of the squad structure rollout. Schneider and Bunce were tasked with reviewing the introduction of the squad structure and assessing the success of its implementation.

The case can be used in a graduate- or executive-level course on leadership and change management. It could also be used for courses in innovation, strategy, and agile thinking. This case and its supplemental readings invites students to analyze and evaluate Arcane’s transition to a squad structure (essentially a form of agile methodology) and gauge the success of its implementation. It also asks students to consider how the move toward a squad structure might change or evolve going forward as the organization gets older and larger. Through preparing for and discussing this case material, students will have the opportunity to do the following:<ul><li>Understand the purpose and methodology behind agile forms of organizational structure.</li><li>Understand the basic philosophy of agile methodology: how it works both within an organization and across squads and how such a design benefits both clients and employees.</li><li>Analyze the organizational challenges in transitioning to a squad structure, especially in organizations with firmly entrenched cultures.</li><li>Build knowledge around introducing/implementing transformational changes to organizations.</li><li>Address tempering/reducing personal and organizational resistance to change that can occur even with well-informed plans for change.</li></ul>

• agile methodology
• squad structure
• organizational change