PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to outline a methodology for strengthening an organisational design by identifying knowledge risks introduced by organisational structure and addressing those risks by implementing knowledge management measures.Design/methodology/approachBy reviewing two anonimised case studies and by structuring personal experiences of the authors, the paper presents a four‐pronged process to deal with suboptimal organisational design.FindingsTwo case studies demonstrate that pro‐active knowledge management can help to alleviate weaknesses introduced by dominant orientations in organisational design.Practical implicationsThe practical implications of this paper are that in organisational design and restructuring processes, knowledge management principles should be taken into account to prevent weaknesses to slip into the final structure. A simple yet powerful methodology that looks at knowledge risks can be used to defend against suboptimal designs.Originality/valueAlthough there is extensive literature on networked organisations, this paper adds value by its knowledge risk‐based review of current organisational structure and its subsequent focus on using the knowledge factor as a prime design criterion of new organisational structure.