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Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Topic: Strategy Management

Reference: Murray, Alan. “Managing the Future Workplace? Start Here.”WSJ.com: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870347090457.

Tuesday, September 28, 2010

Topic: Strategy Management

Reference: Murray, Alan. “Managing the Future Workplace? Start Here.”WSJ.com: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405274870347090457.

There seems to be a major shift in the economic order. Customers are harder to find on a consistent basis. It is getting more challenging to figure out consumer patterns, tastes, and preferences for services and goods. Some see the problems as temporary and that patterns will normalize when a real economic recovery returns. Others see this as the beginning of real structural change complete with a shuffling of the economic order. If the matter is temporary then leaders should be equipped to deal with the return to prosperity. If, however, the latter holds true then leaders will need to adapt to some new realities and implement some new approaches to work and the workplace. In the referenced article the commentator quotes this from Ian Davis of McKinsey &Co, “We are experiencing not merely another turn of the business cycle, but a restructuring of the economic order”. Thus, he is of the mind that real structural reform is underway.  This means that trust in business is likely to remain low; Government will remain a central player; and the U.S. consumer will likely not lead the next evolution. “Yet success in the new era won’t ultimately require a perfect crystal ball…Rather, it will require institutions that can survive through uncertainty and thrive amid rapid change, and managers who have the humility to know that they don’t have all the answers but do have…judgment to lead their team to find them.”  The accent here is on the qualifiers of humility and of judgment. These are leadership characteristics far removed from those used to describe leadership in the roaring 2000s. The commentator also supports his theories with suggested tools that should be mastered by senior managers during this period of structural reform. They include: (1) Staying flexible; (2) using data and information to gain real intelligence; (3) insisting on candor; (4) being humble; (5) keeping your team flat; and (6) planning for contingencies. I really like the insistence on candor. In many organizations candor is ignored or constrained in favor of subtlety or hedged positions taken by direct reports. We need less read between the lines and more read my lips. If nothing else the next evolution of management will require much more candor and fact based decision-making.  The time for increased candor is now. If that makes you uncomfortable and will present challenges to your organization, avoid the rush and seek help now. Timing could be critical.