What do ‘next generation’ organisations do that you don’t?
Executives often complain that they have the right strategy but lack the right people or organsiational culture to execute it. While it’s easier (and cheaper) to change your strategy than change your people many organisations could certainly benefit from becoming better executors than they are today. This is why ‘transformation’ programs are so popular in businesses today.
However, many ‘transformation’ programs are little more than re-arranging deck-chairs on the Titanic: it looks pretty but ultimately doesn’t tackle the real challenge your ship faces. If you really want to change course then stop messing about with structure and start increasing your organisation’s Adaptivity Intelligence (AQ): its ability to respond to change.
AQ is developed by adopting 40 universally-useful principles that any organisation can adopt. These principles are derived from Wardley Maps and have been tested with ‘Next Gen firms’ in Silicon Valley to identify the skills, habits and practices that give them an edge over ‘traditional firms’. It isn’t just WHAT you do that matters, but HOW you do it as well. With a higher-AQ you’ll act faster and be more profitable than your slower-moving rivals.
I’ll be introducing many of these principles over the coming weeks, grouped in six categories (Communication, Development, Operations, Structure, Learning, and Leading). If you adopt even a few of these you’ll improve your organisation’s AQ and develop a comparative advantage over rivals, without needing to spend millions on the latest change management fad.
