LEADERSHIP STRATEGY: EXCORCISE OUTDATED THINKING AND HABITS

Haunted by Industrial-age thinking?

At times, even the best run companies face critical situations at times.  Having coached over twenty CEOs through recession, I’ve been up close and personal with both winners and losers.   There are lessons to be learned.Winners reinvent themselves faster than their competition. Ahead of the curve, they perpetually cull marginally performing; products, services, suppliers, funding partners and employees. In the face of uncertainty, survival and prosperity depend on organizations remaining alert and fluid. Unfortunately the perspective of too many CEOs is based on performance inhibiting assumptions.

By LSI publisher Art McNeil

We have entered what futurist David Houle calls the shift age.  Most of us cut our management teeth in the industrial-age—or were influenced by role models who were.  In a recent book, I distilled the difference between the two era as;  “movement away from relying on knowledge and experience towards having processes for finding out and taking action faster than the competition”. (Read the updated rewrite of ,The “I” of the Hurricane: how to Generate and Focus Corportate Energy.  Available in E bookstores or for downlaod to PC and MAC ).

My current mission is to help CEOs shape a shift-age congruent culture.  Culture is best defined as,“ the habits a specific group of people use to get things done.”  Organizations that unknowingly are haunted by industrial-age ghosts have attitudes, behavioral patterns, and expectations suited for a time that no longer exists.  Adopting new technologies and the hiring of “millennial” employees complicates rather than alleviates their problem.

Examples of industrial-age thinking: (replacing them may require a corporate exorcism)

• Managers should know more than their direct reports.
• The supervisory protocols don’t apply to senior management.
• Winners commit to following long-range plans.
• Internal competition keeps employees sharp.
• Managers should never require performance corrections.
• Knowledge and experience are always an asset.
• Budget issues should be shared on a need to know basis.
• Owners and employees owe each other long term loyalty.
• People should follow the chain of command.
• Success makes companies and people stronger.
• Economy of scale gives larger organizations the advantage.
• Good employees will self-motivate.
• Growth always requires the addition of people.
• Annual performance reviews adds value.

This posting sponsored by culture shaping keynotes and workshops