How to Build Organizational Dexterity
By Tony Bynum, MBA, MDM
February 3, 2026
What Is Organizational Dexterity?
Imagine you’re an NFL quarterback. You approach the line, ready to take the snap, when the defense suddenly shifts formation. Do you stick to the plan, or call an audible?
In business, “audibles” are triggered when markets shift, technologies disrupt, or customer needs evolve overnight. Organizations that call the right audible at the right moment demonstrate what I call organizational dexterity: the ability to execute today’s business while simultaneously reshaping itself for tomorrow by sensing changes early, making a call, and quickly shifting resources.
Read on to discover why your organization should build dexterity — and answer seven questions to gauge your organization’s level of dexterity today.
Why Organizational Dexterity Matters Now
Markets can change faster than a blitzing linebacker. New technologies emerge, consumer preferences flip, and what was hot may now be irrelevant. Like the quarterback who spots a hole in the defense, companies need to interpret weak signals in the market and be ready to pivot quickly.
The difference between thriving and surviving often comes down to a single question: Can your organization make the right call, at the right time, when it matters most?
A Classic Tale of Change Or Be Changed
We’ve heard it, we’ve read it, we’ve seen it… Netflix v. Blockbuster, the new guard-old guard trope that never dies, but instead continues to play out decade after decade across industries and sectors.
The New Guard: While legacy players were perfecting the internal combustion engine, newcomers like Tesla and BYD were betting on outcomes driven by falling battery costs, the rise of “always-on” connectivity, and a shift in consumer values. Unconstrained by the then automotive orthodoxies, these tech-first players quickly saw that the future of transportation wasn’t just electric; it was software-enabled. By building digital ecosystems around the driver, they redefined the vehicle from a system of parts into an interoperable, user-first platform that just happened to have a steering wheel, seats, and four wheels.
Regardless of industry, established players often fall into the classic trap of myopically mistaking their product for the business they’re in. In the HBR piece “How Industries Change” by Anita McGahan, research on how industries evolve shows that most companies don’t fail to see disruption coming, they fail to recognize which signals matter until their business model and core assets are at risk.
Whether it’s Blockbuster vs. Netflix, Legacy Automakers vs. Tesla BYD, Hotels vs. Airbnb, or more recently, Intel vs. NVIDIA, the lesson stands:
How Design-Led Capabilities Unlock Dexterity
Audibles work in American football because every player understands the call and knows what to do when it’s made. The same applies to organizations that embrace design-led capabilities: shared language acts as the call, and shared understanding of process methods and tools guides teams on what to do and how to do it. I characterize this as “organizational call and response.” It’s a strategic chorus in which groups and teams mobilize to play responsive chords rather than siloed notes.
When adopted, practiced, and thoughtfully integrated, design-driven capabilities allow leaders and their organizations to instinctively lean into complexity and change rather than avoid them. They encourage teams to view challenges from multiple angles, rapidly test and experiment, and then communicate and refine their understanding of the opportunity. When design is adopted as a philosophy of change, one that extends beyond the design department, the ability to perform and transform in real time is unlocked across teams, groups, departments, and divisions.
Seven Questions to Test Your Organization’s Dexterity
Image generated with Nano Banana
1. Can we sense and act on market changes quickly?
If you’re always surprised by market shifts, it’s time to strengthen your ability to translate data into proprietary insights and experiments. Organizations with dexterity don’t just track metrics — they spot patterns and act on weak signals before they become obvious trends.
2. Can our teams make fast decisions without layers of approvals?
If communicating and acting on change requires twelve layers of approval, you’ll miss your window. The best audibles happen in seconds, not quarters.
3. Do we encourage rapid testing and experimentation?
If your culture punishes every small failure, people won’t test bold ideas that could keep you ahead of the game. Dexterous organizations treat experiments as learning opportunities, not career risks.
4. Are we good at separating what customers can tell us from what they can’t?
Blockbuster lost because it didn’t hear what customers really wanted. How often are you checking in on your audience’s evolving needs? More importantly, can you read between the lines to understand needs customers themselves haven’t articulated yet?
5. Are design tools, skills, and methods integrated into our day-to-day operations?
Design-led capabilities shouldn’t live in silos. They should be part of how you plan, build, and iterate on your products or services. When design thinking becomes how work gets done — not something that happens in workshops — you’ve built real capability.
6. How do we reward forward thinking?
If all the praise and promotions go to hitting immediate targets, nobody will look for the next big play. As Upton Sinclair observed, “It is difficult to get a man to understand something when his salary depends upon his not understanding it.” What are your incentive systems actually encouraging?
7. Is there a shared understanding of purpose and strategic intent?
Teams that know why they exist can rally around that vision and adapt strategies together when the market throws a curveball. A clear sense of purpose provides the North Star that makes audibles possible — everyone knows what success looks like, even when the path changes.
Building the Capacity to Call Audibles
The best organizations aren’t just fulfilling today’s promises; they’re also setting themselves up for tomorrow’s possibilities. That’s organizational dexterity: the ability to be both stable and agile, reliable and responsive.
Just like our quarterback who reads the defense and calls the right audible before it’s too late, your organization can learn to sense shifts, make the call, and move with intention.
The Institute of Design (ID) Executive Academy helps organizations develop this dexterity through work-integrated learning — building design capabilities that become part of how your teams plan, build, and iterate. Drawing on more than 85 years of pioneering design education, we work with teams in their own environments, ensuring that learning translates directly into performance and transformation.
Our practitioner faculty doesn’t just teach design thinking — they help you embed it into the work you’re already doing. Real challenges become the curriculum. Current projects become the laboratory. Your team builds capability while delivering results.
Because in today’s market, you can’t afford to choose between performing and transforming. You need the dexterity to do both.
Ready to strengthen your organization’s ability to call audibles?