Makeover or comb over,
which does your organization need?
I hope everyone had a
great and restful Thanksgiving if you are living in the U.S.!
Like during any downtime,
we have a tendency to watch more TV than normal. Accordingly, my wife is
obsessed with HGTV and the home makeover shows that seem to be on 24 hours a
day! Granted, having bought a “fixer upper” in South Florida just before the
real estate bubble burst (I know, great timing right?), we have done a good bit
of work ourselves. So two bathrooms and a kitchen later, you would think she
would be over the fascination right? No so much! So it is MTV, Makeover Television,
all day and night at my house (or at least until House of Cards starts its new
season on Netflix!).
But as someone who loves
pulling ideas from disparate industries to organizational and personal effectiveness,
I starting thinking out loud about organizations that need “makeovers”. Often
the lingo involved is “rebranding” or “repositioning in the marketplace” or
something like that. Regardless, there are times when a business, non-profit, corporation,
or other institution does need a makeover but how do you know? Here is a list
of possible indicators:
- Loss of market share to competitors
- Unexpected and dramatic reduction in customers or clients
- Decrease in employee engagement
- Significant reduction in customer or user satisfaction
- Accrued policies and procedures that have made your organization less nimble and responsive
- Development of an organizational culture that has become toxic and unhealthy
- Outdated or non-effective technologies that have become a hindrance
- Messaging that no longer resonates with your target market
If your organization is
experiencing one or more of the above, then it is time for an Organizational
Makeover intervention. The solutions vary but I would highly recommend
investing in experienced consultants that can help you identify the real
issue(s) and coach your organization to solutions.
The business literature is
full of stories of companies that have done this successfully. Apple, Chrysler,
Burberry, and General Electric are just classic examples of how heroic
leadership and efforts created significant transformations.
On the other hand, maybe
your group just needs a "comb over"! You know what this is, when a balding man
will grow his hair long on one side and combs it over to cover the bald spots. (Seriously
guys, I know baldness is a harsh reality of genetics and/or getting older but you’re not
fooling anyone when you do this!) So again, how does this relate organizational
effectiveness? Let’s assume your business or organization is like a balding
body builder . . . the fundamentals are solid, you just need to tweak things a
little! Below you will find a list characteristics that indicates your
organization may need a Organizational Comb Over intervention!
- The impending launch of a new product or service
- An anticipated increase and/or influx of new staff members due to expansion or retirements
- A planned expansion of operations to a new market or community
- An internal reorganization that will create new roles or associations within the organization
- A slight decrease in sales, employee engagement, responsiveness, etc.
In these type of
situations, again, outside assistance and internal effort would be critical.
Remember, your organization is solid, you just need to remind yourself, your team,
and your customers/clients as to why that is. Influential pastor, speaker and
author Andy Stanley stated during the 2012 Leadercast event that he has a small
sign at his desk that asks three questions”
- WHAT are we doing?
- WHY are we doing it?
- WHERE do we fit in (or what is each person’s role)?
If you and your team can
clarify and answer question below, then you will be on solid ground. Again, there are many
examples of solid organizations that just needed to slightly alter course to
get to where they wanted to be or had been. Some that quickly come to mind are
TIAA-CREF, AFLAC, and Samsung.They simply just needed to re-answer those three insightful questions.
Finally, there is the
third intervention that calls for a “do-over” where the entire organization is
brought back from the brink of failure to emerge as incredibly relevant. Harley
Davidson motorcycles is an incredible example but it took monumental efforts to
accomplish such a resurgence.
As
always, if I can help you Get Better, Be Ready and LEAD OUT LOUD, I would love
to hear from you. Also, as a bonus, if you go to my Out Loud Strategies website
(www.outloudinc.com) and enter your contact information, I will
send you a FREE guide to establishing a mentoring initiative program in your
organization! Such an initiative would be critical in either your makeover or
comb over efforts!
Yours
in Leadership,
Bill
Faulkner
Co-Founder
– Out Loud Strategies
Independent
Coach, Speaker, and Trainer with the John Maxwell Team TM
No comments:
Post a Comment