A fresh perspective needs a time-out and detachment
In
medium to large organizations there is a need to standardize
procedures and to have habits. Here are some examples of habits:
every monday morning there is a team meeting; R&D is done
in-house; managers are senior men; we focus on addressing faults,
mistakes and individual weaknesses.
Most
leaders are not even consciously aware of these practices. They are
so ingrained in the the 'way things get done here' (the 'culture'),
that they are neither questioned nor improved.
While
some of these habits are quite beneficial, like having regular team
meetings, others do often block innovation. Let's have a look at R&D
which is done only internally. This certainly will create a kind of
arrogance, 'we know it better'. And also the focus is entirely on
satisfying the internal customers, rather than the external
stakeholders. Also it is impossible to keep up to date on all new
developments in the market and therefor there is a huge risk of
missing out on new customer needs. An example id Digital Equipment
Corporation which missed the importance of the pc. Now you see that
still many organizations are dismissing social media.
Procter
& Gamble has decided that more than 50% of its R&D should be
crowd-sourced. In this way they are making sure not to miss out on
crucial developments.
This
time between Christmas and New Year is an excellent time to detach
and to assess whether some of these habits are still supporting your
goals. Be courageous and dare to let go of these old habits which
block your progress.
What
is your new perspective?
GROW
YOUR PEOPLE, GROW YOUR BUSINESS!
