Okay, during the initial stages of the pandemic your ideas of readying your organisation for change appeared fine, but given time they did not work. It’s exactly the same for Governments around the world – just on a larger scale.
Seven months into the pandemic, different countries have different strategies for managing it. We have yet to see one that is working to satisfaction and can be replicated elsewhere.
Planning = Ready + Fire + Aim
It appears to be very much an example of ready, fire, aim attitude to planning. We need to spend much more energy (not time) focusing on the level of direction, our aim, and our desired shared outcomes rather than hoping that something will just evolve and fix things. This is apparent at Governmental, industry or sector level - even within the UK, where we have four different Governments developing their own strategies (sometimes in spite of the others).
How does this relate to our businesses and the wider Economy?
It is dangerous. We are neglecting the business of rebuilding our organisations and our economies. If we fail to commit the energy to do this, we will soon have no economy to manage.
I speak daily with businesspeople who still are operating in a state of confused flux, and they have yet to develop concrete ideas of Plan A, B, C and D that could work for them. One of the issues we raise, which is not always welcome is….
Is your business and your role still relevant?
It is probably the most critical question that any business leader or team can answer. Because if the answer is ‘we don’t know’ or ‘we are not sure’ – then the real answer is NO!
How can you create Plan A, B or C if your vision and mission for your organisation is in doubt, with little certainty of recovery in its current form?
Many organisations find that their role has changed, but they do not act or behave to suit. They still have the same strategy, the same structure, reporting relationships and roles with little thought of developing a resilient culture.
The truth is that the reason they exist may have changed fundamentally – quite radically in many ways, yet still they have not embarked on the journey to be, do and have on offer something much more relevant to their customers, end-users and public.
Reality check required for all organisations in all sectors
Commercial organisations may be the first to understand this – probably because they have the pressure of shareholders, regulators, customers, investors, stakeholders and quarterly returns that they have to hold to account. Look at the enormous changes impacting the Airlines, Tourism & Hospitality, Energy, Retail and Financial Services. The challenges they face are enormous.
Have they individually committed to managing perhaps the most significant change they have ever confronted before? We are not sure, but we do have a series of published articles for you to assess whether you are prepared to pursue the wisdom and insight of Psychiatrist Scott Peck’s ‘The Road Less Travelled’ series on the journey to reinvent ourselves and our institutions.
Wake up call for Not for Profits (NFP)
Under the term NFPs, we group all organisations that do not have a strict commercial ethos and basis. NFPs includes all the public sector, publicly funded organisations, educational institutions, Government Departments, Universities, Charities, NGO’s and the whole variety of businesses that make up the third sector.
Consider the vast loss of income, how to compensate for that and what radically needs to change in terms of focus, structure, systems, processes and culture.
What is clear is that we need to spend more time in critical thinking mode, rather than just remembering things that may half-heartedly have worked before when confronted with the existential crisis.
A call to action
We find most people love a good challenge. We have one for you should you wish to take things further. Download the article at the end of this Blog, and consider how the issues raised in them impact your organisation, and how you can reinvent and renew your business to overcome the challenges of today and tomorrow.
Philip Atkinson
Seven months into the pandemic, different countries have different strategies for managing it. We have yet to see one that is working to satisfaction and can be replicated elsewhere.
Planning = Ready + Fire + Aim
It appears to be very much an example of ready, fire, aim attitude to planning. We need to spend much more energy (not time) focusing on the level of direction, our aim, and our desired shared outcomes rather than hoping that something will just evolve and fix things. This is apparent at Governmental, industry or sector level - even within the UK, where we have four different Governments developing their own strategies (sometimes in spite of the others).
How does this relate to our businesses and the wider Economy?
It is dangerous. We are neglecting the business of rebuilding our organisations and our economies. If we fail to commit the energy to do this, we will soon have no economy to manage.
I speak daily with businesspeople who still are operating in a state of confused flux, and they have yet to develop concrete ideas of Plan A, B, C and D that could work for them. One of the issues we raise, which is not always welcome is….
Is your business and your role still relevant?
It is probably the most critical question that any business leader or team can answer. Because if the answer is ‘we don’t know’ or ‘we are not sure’ – then the real answer is NO!
How can you create Plan A, B or C if your vision and mission for your organisation is in doubt, with little certainty of recovery in its current form?
Many organisations find that their role has changed, but they do not act or behave to suit. They still have the same strategy, the same structure, reporting relationships and roles with little thought of developing a resilient culture.
The truth is that the reason they exist may have changed fundamentally – quite radically in many ways, yet still they have not embarked on the journey to be, do and have on offer something much more relevant to their customers, end-users and public.
Reality check required for all organisations in all sectors
Commercial organisations may be the first to understand this – probably because they have the pressure of shareholders, regulators, customers, investors, stakeholders and quarterly returns that they have to hold to account. Look at the enormous changes impacting the Airlines, Tourism & Hospitality, Energy, Retail and Financial Services. The challenges they face are enormous.
Have they individually committed to managing perhaps the most significant change they have ever confronted before? We are not sure, but we do have a series of published articles for you to assess whether you are prepared to pursue the wisdom and insight of Psychiatrist Scott Peck’s ‘The Road Less Travelled’ series on the journey to reinvent ourselves and our institutions.
Wake up call for Not for Profits (NFP)
Under the term NFPs, we group all organisations that do not have a strict commercial ethos and basis. NFPs includes all the public sector, publicly funded organisations, educational institutions, Government Departments, Universities, Charities, NGO’s and the whole variety of businesses that make up the third sector.
Consider the vast loss of income, how to compensate for that and what radically needs to change in terms of focus, structure, systems, processes and culture.
What is clear is that we need to spend more time in critical thinking mode, rather than just remembering things that may half-heartedly have worked before when confronted with the existential crisis.
A call to action
We find most people love a good challenge. We have one for you should you wish to take things further. Download the article at the end of this Blog, and consider how the issues raised in them impact your organisation, and how you can reinvent and renew your business to overcome the challenges of today and tomorrow.
Philip Atkinson
| covid-challenge-philipatkinson-_danielburger-ims_sept_2020.pdf |
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