Management practices tend to lead people to “stop talking and go to work” but they must be more versatile allowing “watchful talking” to be a part of work. The execution of a Strategic Plan is a universe filled with disruptive events. Such events may be relevant or irrelevant, complex or simple and they can support or derail a Strategic Plan. Whatever the event or combination of events, everyone involved must talk watchfully.
Asking specific questions against plan benchmarks is key to successful execution. Watchful talking is the art of using the answers to such questions to map the environment in which an execution takes place. What must be learned for our plan to work? What predictable events will occur in the short term? How will they affect the plan? Who will they affect in the plan? Who should we tell? The answers to such questions should result from looking at the environment as a whole, from inside and outside of the company. Connections should be drawn from large and small events, people and technology innovations, local and global economies, government regulations and/or proposed regulations.
While this first aspect of watchful talking protects day to day activities, future events must also be predicted to avoid impediments before they occur. Such future events are called watchful predictions and are a positive and useful by-product of watchful talking. People charged with execution gain an awareness of others’ environments from learning what events could cause impediments for them. Once determined, watchful predictions can trigger adjustments in the effected environment and allow a smooth execution. Forewarned by predictions, watchful talking will create necessary adjustments prior to derailment of a Strategic Plan.
Everyone must embrace talking at work in a way that enhances the execution of the Strategic Plan. Watchful talking is an art that leads to a structured mapping process for execution. As the mapping process unfolds, watchful predictions become self-evident; built from the plan’s environment as a whole. Watchful talking and watchful predictions are processes through which events are understood and execution altered for success.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Tuesday, May 1, 2007
April 2007 Deep Insights
New beginnings are tools for success. They are a challenge and an opportunity. The challenge is to be a student of past and present conditions; the opportunity is to build a vision that utilizes past and present strengths.
Past historical analysis provides an understanding of culture. What gave us what we have? Was our success based on riding a trend that anyone could have ridden? Have we experienced both growth and shrinkage? Faced adversity both internally and from the external world? Are we product innovators, product enhancers or low cost duplicators? Has our management come from within or are they hired from outside? What has been our economic engine?
Present environments must be evaluated in a way that respects reality. As an organization, we must accept what we are, not what we want to be. Are margins growing? Have our revenues been growing? What is the benchstrength of our personnel? Do we have technical skills required for today? Are our people capable of conducting research, identifying trends and capturing innovations to ride those trends? Do we know our echo system? Are we in touch with its world and understand how it influences our success? Have we built relationships with the echo system influencers? What activities are measured to determine strategic successes? Are succession plans in place for employees, management, CEO, customers and products?
The future is a portrait drawn by the past and present that assists an organization to embrace its possibilities. Do we need cash insertions? What cultural aspects do not fit? What gaps are evident in human assets? How will processes hold the organization accountable for commitment and action? How will our future affect relationships internally and externally? What learning must be acquired to be prepared for the next new beginning?
New beginnings are just NEW. Organizations must know “thyself,” have resolve to be flexible and ambidextrous with the discipline to accept ambiguity, moving tirelessly through this NEW, knowing another is a breath away.
Past historical analysis provides an understanding of culture. What gave us what we have? Was our success based on riding a trend that anyone could have ridden? Have we experienced both growth and shrinkage? Faced adversity both internally and from the external world? Are we product innovators, product enhancers or low cost duplicators? Has our management come from within or are they hired from outside? What has been our economic engine?
Present environments must be evaluated in a way that respects reality. As an organization, we must accept what we are, not what we want to be. Are margins growing? Have our revenues been growing? What is the benchstrength of our personnel? Do we have technical skills required for today? Are our people capable of conducting research, identifying trends and capturing innovations to ride those trends? Do we know our echo system? Are we in touch with its world and understand how it influences our success? Have we built relationships with the echo system influencers? What activities are measured to determine strategic successes? Are succession plans in place for employees, management, CEO, customers and products?
The future is a portrait drawn by the past and present that assists an organization to embrace its possibilities. Do we need cash insertions? What cultural aspects do not fit? What gaps are evident in human assets? How will processes hold the organization accountable for commitment and action? How will our future affect relationships internally and externally? What learning must be acquired to be prepared for the next new beginning?
New beginnings are just NEW. Organizations must know “thyself,” have resolve to be flexible and ambidextrous with the discipline to accept ambiguity, moving tirelessly through this NEW, knowing another is a breath away.
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