- and Preserve Change amid Order"
This quote by Alfred North Whitehead symbolizes the leadership challenge faced by businesses of all sizes and industries in today's competitive economic landscape. The implication in this quote is the balance required maintaining some measure of order in business organizations and plans while at the same time identify and execute change strategies in order to achieve real progress. My experience suggests many businesses are doing one aspect of this process well but struggling to do the other and/or both to full effectiveness.
So how does today's leader manage order and change simultaneously? The answer lies in the business Strategy. Simply stated, your business or organizational strategy dictates how your business or organization competes in its industry and markets. Having created strategies in businesses from large corporations to small entrepreneurial, mature and start-up, for-profit and non-profit, I find this definition of strategy to hold true universally. The strategy is a by-product of the leader(s) taking an objective and in-depth look at their external environment in order to create the Vision I spoke of last month. It also holds the results of an unbiased view of the business or organization's internal capabilities identified through a detailed SWOT (Strengths, Opportunities, Weaknesses and Threats) process or similar assessment process. What the Strategy looks like in the practical sense is a series of goal categories (also referred to as strategic objectives) determined to be critical to the business in a competitive environment.
It is not enough to just have a strategy as a stand-alone document. It must also link both the business goals and the vision of the business to be effective in the context of creating real progress. Linking the strategy to business goals is accomplished through the creation of specific goals from each of the critical goal categories identified in the strategy. This alignment typically represents managing "order amid change" in the opening quote. Just as important is the linkage of the strategy to the vision of the business. This alignment ensures the critical goal categories are relevant to the overall direction of the business and/or organization. If you cannot articulate clear alignment between current strategic objectives and the direction your business is going, the competitive markets will take the business where they want it to go. In essence, without direction (read: control), any road will look like a valid one! This represents the managing "change amid order" element of the opening quote.
Organizational movement can just happen and be confused for progress. Real progress requires a strategy that is both linked to the vision and the specific goals of the business to be effective. Last month I spoke of two types of leaders during times of challenge and change. The first are those who are busy managing order. The second types are creating real progress!
Lead Well
Rick Lochner
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
If the economy is not going back to what it was...
why are you still running your business the same way it was back then?
In a recent networking event, I asked the assembled businesses if they thought the economy would revert back to the way it was 2 years ago. No-one raised their hand. I then asked how many have changed their business model to account for that new reality, only 4 or 5 out of 30 raised their hand. Leadership is about managing change and there is no more significant change requiring authentic leadership in recent history as now. Yet we see many businesses large and small not coping well with the necessary changes needed to keep their businesses viable. Some of the larger companies are getting government attention to exercise the level of leadership they need to recover from this recession. However, a vast majority of the companies will need to leverage their ability to change on their own and reach into the leadership tool kit for some never before used tools.
Understanding how to manage change involves first recognizing that a change is needed. Recognizing the skills and knowledge that brought your business to this point may not, will not guarantee your success going forward. More importantly, has your attitude changed with the new reality? What are you customers asking for now? What are your suppliers telling you now? What are your own sales and operations people saying about their ability to succeed now? What is your Vision? Under normal circumstances, a Vision is what would help direct the organization during times of change. As these are not normal times, having an organizational Vision is even more critical to the success of the business. Every business needs a sense of direction and I would go so far as to suggest the reason many small and mid-sized businesses are stalled is the absence of a clear Vision.
It is not enough to just have a Vision. It must be communicated openly and frequently to the rest of the organization as well as to suppliers and customers. Leadership during change requires a communication strategy second to none to ensure all organizations contributing to your business success are on the same page. However, this requires the business leader to be transparent and authentic. Transparency requires the leader to be frank and honest about what is going on in the business and effectively communicate where the business is going. Authenticity means being a leader whom those associated with the business can trust. The leader during times of change and challenge must be credible and the rules of what a credible leader is in this economy are uncompromising. You cannot be credible through taking a pill or getting a shot. You cannot gain it by submitting to a surgical procedure. It comes from your attitude and your heart. Your credibility comes from your ability to execute the actions necessary to lead without looking in the rear view mirror!
In my experience, there are two types of leaders during times of challenge and change. The first are those who stall and wait for change to happen. The others are those who drive forward continuously with a purpose to achieve their Vision. The first types are victims and act accordingly. The second types are true leaders and are rewarded accordingly.
Lead Well
Rick Lochner
In a recent networking event, I asked the assembled businesses if they thought the economy would revert back to the way it was 2 years ago. No-one raised their hand. I then asked how many have changed their business model to account for that new reality, only 4 or 5 out of 30 raised their hand. Leadership is about managing change and there is no more significant change requiring authentic leadership in recent history as now. Yet we see many businesses large and small not coping well with the necessary changes needed to keep their businesses viable. Some of the larger companies are getting government attention to exercise the level of leadership they need to recover from this recession. However, a vast majority of the companies will need to leverage their ability to change on their own and reach into the leadership tool kit for some never before used tools.
Understanding how to manage change involves first recognizing that a change is needed. Recognizing the skills and knowledge that brought your business to this point may not, will not guarantee your success going forward. More importantly, has your attitude changed with the new reality? What are you customers asking for now? What are your suppliers telling you now? What are your own sales and operations people saying about their ability to succeed now? What is your Vision? Under normal circumstances, a Vision is what would help direct the organization during times of change. As these are not normal times, having an organizational Vision is even more critical to the success of the business. Every business needs a sense of direction and I would go so far as to suggest the reason many small and mid-sized businesses are stalled is the absence of a clear Vision.
It is not enough to just have a Vision. It must be communicated openly and frequently to the rest of the organization as well as to suppliers and customers. Leadership during change requires a communication strategy second to none to ensure all organizations contributing to your business success are on the same page. However, this requires the business leader to be transparent and authentic. Transparency requires the leader to be frank and honest about what is going on in the business and effectively communicate where the business is going. Authenticity means being a leader whom those associated with the business can trust. The leader during times of change and challenge must be credible and the rules of what a credible leader is in this economy are uncompromising. You cannot be credible through taking a pill or getting a shot. You cannot gain it by submitting to a surgical procedure. It comes from your attitude and your heart. Your credibility comes from your ability to execute the actions necessary to lead without looking in the rear view mirror!
In my experience, there are two types of leaders during times of challenge and change. The first are those who stall and wait for change to happen. The others are those who drive forward continuously with a purpose to achieve their Vision. The first types are victims and act accordingly. The second types are true leaders and are rewarded accordingly.
Lead Well
Rick Lochner
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