Organizations have personalities in the same way that an individual does.
Most of
organizations get stuck at low to mid level of maturity today, they are running
in silos and not agile to adapt to the changes; at functional level, business
managers work at operational mode, rather than strategic way, it may cause
short-sighted vision or stifle innovation, so what’s your organization’s 'personality',
and what’re the better way to run today’s digital business?
Framing bigger box: Business leaders have to push and encourage
themselves and others to "frame and think in bigger boxes"; think outside of your job
description and consider company and industry and even societal impacts. Assume that every problem has multiple
solutions and ask yourself and others for three ways, you might address this
issue. One may be much better than the others, but push for multiple solutions.
Take the time to look at every situation from multiple points of view, customer
POV, supplier POV, management POV, and employee POV, etc. The senior executive
teams intend to build a future state blueprint for the improvement program; to
create a target to focus on the valuable resource; to sell the benefits of
thinking more broadly before jumping into action.
Organizations have personalities
in the same way that an individual does. Most often, an organization's personality replicates
the personality of its leader. Some people may mentally be "planners"
while others naturally "shoot from the hip.". The ones that shoot
from the hip tend to leave the plans on the shelf and never use them, while
planners value the effort and thinking that went into that plan and ensure it
is used regularly as a living document. Trying to find avenues where
decision-makers can see how different ideas and actions could potentially
impact others. The reactive mode without consideration of the impact of their
actions on the system often creates confusion as the ripples (unintentionally)
affect many others.
The most effective use of a plan
of any kind is as a brainstorming driver. In organizations that tend to "shoot from the
hip”, there is a lack of strategic and tactical plans for problem solving, or
the plan is written on high and passed down in stone without employee
participation. All too often, plans are written and stuck on a shelf. The
result is an absence of guidance in daily problem solving. The best way to avoid the leadership
gap is to have every employee write a section of the plan that pertains to
their particular area of expertise.
They need to codify who their "suppliers" and "customers"
are both inside and outside the company. By writing their personal business
plans and communicating that plan to their "suppliers" and
"customers", they help to ensure that everyone they do business with
on a daily basis understands how issue resolution affects them. By having discussions about the plan at
all levels of the company, people learn how best to work together to serve the
customer. Without that discussion, it may never be recognized that a plan is
not workable.
The use of open questions is very
powerful. For
example, exploring how the idea aligns with organization's vision and key
strategies. Then looking at what impact it might have in a few years. And
exploring what impact the idea is likely to have on other stakeholders -
internal and external. However, the ability to operate in the mode to find and
implement a quick solution is often rewarded because it is so visible. This
quick solution is very focused on the specific problem so the broader picture
and potential impact on other things is not explored. These are exactly the
situations where the solution may well ripple into more problems that did not
exist previously. Organizations, especially the functional managers shall
understand the benefits of taking the broader view before jumping into action.
If this can become a habit replacing the ‘firefighter’ or 'bean counter' mentality, it would be
more advantageous in the long run.
It takes
practice, practice and practice to think and act strategically, business leaders
shall not only be strategic thinkers themselves, but also help others to be
more aware of how to think strategically and to understand that their actions,
even if they are small, affect the system, running business at strategic way
can ensure its long term prosperity and improve organizational maturity.
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