Case Studies

The ‘Fits-and-Starts’ Organization 2-16

The ‘Fits and Starts’ Organization Implications:  Inefficient, unprofitable organization  Entrepreneurial environment – results in innovative ideas that employees can ‘run with’  Employees and teams are ‘flying blind’ due to the lack of strong direction and coordinated effort – resulting in failed execution  Customer is someone to ‘react’ to  The inability to create and articulate a shared direction results in limited growth potential  Company resources are not effectively coordinated and best practices are not leveraged Characteristics/ Behaviors:  Smart, entrepreneurial people who believe in ‘working harder and faster’ (not smarter)  Decisions are made in a vacuum (no line-of-sight)  Ideas are plentiful – follow through is rare  Leaders are either too weak or too disengaged to set a clear course of direction and hold people accountable – they try to ‘get out of the way’  BU’s and functions pursue their own best interests rather than the interest of the whole company  Relationships are developed within teams, not across the organization  Compensation and incentive plans are ‘all over the place’

The ‘Status Quo’ Organization

Implications:  Efficient at producing the same products and services  Slow to respond to changes in the marketplace  Growth potential is almost non-existent  Innovation is neither valued nor delivered  Top talent is hard to attract and harder to keep  Quality and value are defined internally – not by the marketplace  Customer Satisfaction is assumed Characteristics/ Behaviors:  Decisions are made at the ‘top’ – and without relevant information from employees OR the marketplace  External perspectives are not valued  Leaders focus on next week or next month’s operation – not much beyond  Classic “That’s not the way we do things around here” organization  Self starters are ‘ejected’ from the organization  Employees who stay are ‘comfortable’ – but certainly not challenged  Employees work in teams as they execute against short term goals  Values and behavior expectations are well entrenched

The ‘High Performance’ Organization

Implications:  Able to innovate AND execute – turning ideas into profitable products and services  Responsive to the marketplace and achieves growth by translating what it learns into a cohesive strategy and clear goals  Employees are developed and collaborate to meet common objectives - resulting in higher satisfaction AND higher quality  Everyone understands the ‘big picture’ and how their work contributes to the organization’s success – there is clear line-of-sight resulting in an efficient operation Characteristics/ Behaviors:  Risk taking and innovation are encouraged – (no fear of ‘blame’)  Information flows freely in all directions  Strategies and goals are based on ‘informed’ consideration and understanding of the marketplace  Accountability is expected  Customer understanding and responsiveness is paramount  ‘Creating’ change is valued – not just reacting to change  Collaboration within and across teams is encouraged and rewarded  Talent development is considered a critical leadership requirement