Quick Tips / Articles
How to Improve Your Company's Ability to Compete
by Elaine Berke, EBI Consulting,
Inc.
EBI Consulting contacted CEO’s
and Executives from technology and rapid growth
companies to determine what are the human issues
that affect business growth and how can organizations
improve their ability to compete. The research
results shed new light on key drivers of vision
and strategy.
HEADLINES:
The trend clearly shows that
CEO’s and executives agree on the need to
drive business growth through aligning the infrastructure,
developing people toward a faster, higher growth
company, and immersing the organization in the
issues of the customer.
More
significantly, CEO’s
and executives are clearly dissatisfied with:
Their
company’s
inability to break through the traditional
and political barriers that limit growth, alignment,
and cross-functional coordination
The
gap between their company’s
3-5 year vision and their LOW confidence in the
ability of the organization to execute on that
vision and strategy
Their organization’s ability to respond
to changes in customer expectations
Traditional attempts to break
through political barriers are not working or not
working fast enough. Typically organizations use
various methods to achieve alignment and breakthroughs
at the most senior level. These can include off-site
strategic reviews generally focused on strategy
and vision, experiential and retreat-type team
sessions designed to build commitment and alignment,
use of executive coaches to assist in changing
behaviors.
These and other activities, including
leadership development and change management initiatives
do not go far enough. They are one-off events with
no sell-in strategy or direct tie to behavior change
or accountability.
The likelihood of change
management being successful is further weakened
when activities lack a sponsor within each business
function and a sponsor at the highest level.
When the only sponsor or driver of change is
Human Resources or the Vice President of Training,
the related change management and training activities
lack business and leadership credibility. The
consequence to the organization is disillusionment,
dissatisfaction with process and value, and inability
to progress beyond the current state.
Breakthroughs can and
do occur when initiatives can be implemented with
a sell-in strategy, tied to forced behavioral or
measurable change, with accountability for successful
results and personal involvement of sponsors at
the highest possible level of the organization
and each function.
CEO’s
and executives are generally satisfied with efforts
to:
Hire the right talent
to effectively compete in the future
Identify internal proponents
to lead and drive strategy at each level of the
company, and
Make tough personnel decisions
regarding competency, skill-sets, and mind-sets.
Executives Rank the Gaps
On a scale
of 1 to 10 (with 10 indicating the highest degree
of satisfaction and 1 the lowest), we asked executives
the question: How satisfied are you with your
company’s
3-5 year vision?
Their response indicated an average
satisfaction level of: 7.4%
Correspondingly, we asked executives
the question: If the current or potential problems
are not addressed in the near future, how confident
are you that your company will be able to execute
on your 3-5 year vision?
Their response indicated an average confidence level of: 4.4%
The development
of a highly satisfactory 3-5 year plan is less
of a concern for executives than overcoming the
obvious problems to execute on their strategy.
The problems that exist, if not addressed, will
not only limit growth, but result in the organization’s
inability to attract and retain good talent.
The low confidence expressed
by executives in their organization’s ability
to execute is a real obstacle in itself. More powerful
strategies are needed to address the current or
potential problems that executive know exist in
their organizations.
Executives Rank Obstacles
- Inability
to translate the vision into daily action.
No on-going time spent ”selling” or
connecting people to strategy.
- Functions and leadership
inadvertently working at odds with one another.
Customers perceive better service elsewhere.
- Continuing to do things
as they have always been done because of habit
or past success.
EBI Consulting, Inc.
Westport, MA 02790
T: 508-636-5656
F: 506-636-4171
info@ebiconsult.com
www.ebiconsult.com
© EBI Consulting, Inc.
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