ORg Debt Research
Companies don't stay still. They’re living entities.
They go through funding rounds, rapid hiring, reorgs, layoffs, leadership changes. Each of these moments changes how the organization operates, and each one has the potential to build org debt.
Organizational debt is the workarounds and unresolved gaps that quietly accumulate as a company changes, creating obstacles to its goals as well as revenue and profitability. Constellary Founder Suzan Bond has identified 5 kinds of org debt. Learn more about the org debt framework.
What the research is about
Our founder Suzan Bond is working on a research project on org debt, specifically how it builds up when a company goes through major change. This research looks at companies going through significant organizational change, whether contraction (running lean, reorg, layoff), expansion (funding, rapid hiring, growth), or a leadership change, to answer:
Does the type of change, contraction or expansion, predict the type of debt that builds up, and does how recently it happened change how it shows up?
What separates companies that go through change and stay healthy from the ones that accumulate debt?
WHo We’re talking to
Rather than look at it academically, she's talking with real leaders facing real obstacles. Suzan is looking to interview CEOs and people leaders in organizations that are:
Running lean after a reorg, layoff, or AI adoption
Chronically under-resourced
Navigating a leadership change
Growing rapidly through funding, expansion, or significant hiring.
The best fit are companies with 50-500 people that have been in business two years or more.
About the Interview
A 55-minute conversation
Suzan will ask questions about what you're seeing in your org. No prep needed.
This is research, not a sales call. Suzan won't be giving recommendations during the interview or selling you any services.
Confidentiality
Interviews are confidential
Results will be anonymized. Names of people and companies won't be shared.
Quotes will only be used with permission.
What you get
Early access to the findings before they’re public.
A chance to step back and reflect, and to identify what’s accumulating that you don’t usually have time to look at.
Want to be included?
About Suzan Bond
Suzan Bond has spent her career focused on building businesses. She saw organizational debt firsthand as a COO, watching leadership strain, relational breakdown, and unrealistic planning quietly pile up while the org focused on growth.
The org debt framework grew out of that experience and the years since, working with hundreds of leaders and the executive teams they sit on. A certified executive coach and trained facilitator of 20 years, her clients have included leaders at Gymshark, Puppet, Griffin, StackHawk, and TaxBit, among many others.
She has a BA in Social and I/O Psychology, an MA in American Studies and an MSW where she studied org development and leadership development. She received her coach training at the Coaches Training Institute and training in relationship systems at CRR Global. She’s a former Gallup consultant and certified StrengthsFinder coach.
