9. Vineyard as an Organizational Metaphor

The vineyard as a metaphor examines factors of organizational adaptation and linkages between strategic choice and environmental determinism. Vineyard management incorporates important concepts such as terroir that ranks and defines high quality wines based on soil, climate, and canopy management. The examination of three companies from different industries—IKEA, Intel, and Barnes and Noble—serve as examples of how to adapt to a rapidly changing environment. One of the key takeaways from applying the vineyard metaphor to organization adaptation relates to the ability to produce high quality performance in poor environments. The pruning and vine training demonstrates the importance of divesting healthy vines to allow maximum adequate nutrients to flow to selected vines to yield a higher performance. The rich metaphor of the vineyard provides an opportunity for organizations to explore innovative strategies to adapt to changing and complex environments.