OrganizationalPerformance

Meeting the ChallengesOf the New

Business Environment

Dr. Karl AlbrechtChairman

Karl Albrecht International© 2011

The pursuit of mediocrity is

always successful.

Karl Albrecht

The pursuit of mediocrity is

always successful.

Karl Albrecht

• Severe recession / survival thinking

• Business is not fun any more

• The Internet is creating and destroying opportunities

• The electronic culture is invading business culture

• Short attention spans and cycles

• Relentless atomization and acceleration

• Depersonalized: customer “moat”

• Depersonalized: management by email

• Executives in quandary

• “Fad fatigue” – death of “excellence”

The Current Business Environment

IBM Global CEO Study, 2010

• 1500+ CEOs, 60 countries, 33 industries

• CEOs concerned about massive, rapid change

• Global economic shifts

• Disruptive impacts of technology

• 80% expect it to get worse

• > 50% say their organizations not prepared to cope

• Biggest needs they identified:

“creativity”

“closeness to customers”

“organizational dexterity”

“The usual stuff’s not working…”

Leadership and Organizational Performance

“Organizational performance cannotbe divorced from executive leadership.

The executives must learn, grow, and co-develop with the organization.”

- Dr. Karl Albrecht

Author of:

Service America: Doing Businessin the New Economy

The Power of Minds at Work:Organizational Intelligence in Action

Social Intelligence: the New Science of Success

Practical Intelligence: the Art & Science ofCommon Sense

Are Executives Equipped for the Challenges?

Prof. Warren Bennis, USC

“We found that adaptive capacity was the single most important attribute for success, whatever the field.”

“We discovered that all of the leaders had undergone a crucible, a transformative experience that had prepared them to lead.”

Adaptive Capacity = Intelligence

“… a leader’s life is the summation of the leader’s judgment calls. Making judgment calls, we concluded, is the primary job of a leader, the DNA of leadership. With good judgment, little else matters. Without it, nothing else matters.”

From Still Surprised: a Memoir of a Life in Leadership

Re-thinking Organizational Performance

Performance:the extent to which an organizationachieves a set of pre-defined targets that are unique to its mission. These targets will include both objective(numerical) and subjective (judgmental) indicators.

Performance Drivers:key dimensions of an organization’sfunctioning that are critical to itscapacity to perform. Also calleddomains of excellence (DOE).

Domains of ExcellenceDomains of Excellence are key performance drivers - dimensions oforganizational capacity that enable the enterprise to succeed. They are the universal “management dashboard.”

1. Strategic Focus

2. Customer Value

3. Leadership & Team Performance

4. Culture, Values, & Ethics

5. Process Excellence

6. Talent Management

7. Knowledge Management

Seven Domains of Excellence:

“Take care of the means,and the end will take careof itself.” - Gandhi

Performance: Means and Ends

ExecutiveLeadership

PerformanceDrivers (DOE)

PerformanceOutcomes

DOE 1: Strategic Focus

• An ongoing “strategic conversation”

• Continuous environmental scanning

• Clear purpose: the “story”

• Clear driving values, priorities

• Linked to financial / economic results

DOE 2: Customer Value

• Key cultural & operational focus

• Continuing research & feedback

• Value proposition clearly understood

• Synergy between “tech” & “touch”

• Masterful delivery

DOE 3: Leadership & Team Performance

• High standards for leader-managers

• Executives who lead and model

• Effective leader selection

• Effective leader training / dev.

• Regular assessment / feedback

DOE 4: Culture, Values, & Ethics

• A strong sense of community

• Executives who model core values

• High quality of work life (QWL)

• Morale, esprit de corps, shared fate

• Social / ecological responsibility

DOE 5: Process Excellence

• Appropriate organization structure

• Processes are aligned w/ mission

• Processes are friendly to customers

• Processes empower performance

• Processes are always improving

DOE 6: Talent Management

• A culture w/ attracts talented people

• Competitive compensation

• Management of “fit” and fitness

• Developmental opportunities

• Systems w/ support career success

DOE 7: Knowledge Management

• A culture w/ values knowledge

• A culture of collaboration & creativity

• Effective use of IT capability

• Infrastructure for social networking

• Development of thought leaders

We Need a New View of the BusinessThe “Wall Street” Model

A business is a living enterprise.

It’s more than the sum of its parts.

There are multiple bottom lines (3 P’s).

Success is multi-dimensional.

Customers are solution seekers.

Employees are agents / performers.

Org’n is a complex, adaptive system.

It has multiple stakeholders.

Performance is caused by synergy.

The Emerging Model

A business is just a collection of assets.

It can be bought, sold, subdivided.

There’s one “real” bottom line.

Success is defined financially.

Customers are sources of revenue.

Employees are interchangeable “resources.”

Org’n is an apparatus; a set of processes.

It’s “owned” by management.

Performance is caused by management.

We Need a New View of Customers“Wall Street” Model

Customers as unique, solution seekers

Can be “appreciating assets”

We focus on delivering value

Our systems reflect their worlds

Emerging Model

Customers as standard economic units

Mostly disposable / interchangeable

We push products / services to them

They adapt to our “system”

We Need a New View of Employees

Interchangeable Work Units

Human “resources”

Transient, disposable

Unique Performers

Complex motivations

High expectations

“Wall Street” Model Emerging Model

We Need a New View of the Executive

Executive as “Leader of the Band”

Leadership as unique and contextual

Leader as learner: growing to meet the challenge

Leader as serial problem solver

The Effective Executive

Occupies a pre-defined role

Captive of the organization

Presides / manages

Sorts problems into “bins”

Deploys his / her unique intelligences

“Owns” the organization

Has a “theory” / “story”

Engages, inspires, and energizes others

Bland Leader? Or Band Leader?

The Leader is the “Main Brain”

The “thinking style” (preferred information processing pattern)of the leader shapes everything he or she thinks, says, and does.

The leader’s thinking style(a.k.a. cognitive style) also influencesthe collective thinking processesof everyone in the organizationunder his or her leadership.

Thinking styles have been mostlyignored in leadership models.

The Polyintelligent Leader

“Multiple Intelligence” Concept:

• Robert Sternberg (Yale): the “IQ” concept is obsolete

• Howard Gardner (Harvard): 7 – 8 “intelligences”

Adapted Model: Karl Albrecht (in his book Social Intelligence)

A = Abstract Intelligence

S = Social Intelligence

P = Practical Intelligence

E = Emotional Intelligence

A = Aesthetic Intelligence

K = Kinesthetic Intelligence

The “Triune” Intelligence model for business

What are the Stepsin an Organizational Performance Initiative?

1. Evaluation / Assessment: a rigorous, evidence-based process of determining what aspects of the organization deserve to be improved; owned and led by management; may be supported by specialized experts or external practitioners.

2. Planning: a carefully considered process of defining the outcomes desired, deciding what methods and resources to employ, and assigning responsibilities for project leadership (e.g. project team or task force).

3. Implementation: a disciplined process of executing the development plan, with support, participation, and guidance by the appropriate levels of management.

4. Continuity: evaluating the success of the project; celebrating success; formalizing the new way of doing things.

The “E. P. I. C.” Cycle

What are the Critical Success Factorsfor an Organizational Performance Initiative?

1. Management Ownership

2. Employee Engagement

3. Solutions Unique to the Enterprise

4. Access to Appropriate Expertise

5. Disciplined Analysis & Planning

6. Creative Solutions & Best Practices

7. Flexible Management of the Process

Seven Critical Success Factors:

Do We Need Outside Consultants?

Consultants can sometimes:

• Educate you about concepts / models

• Advise & guide your efforts

• Provide specialized expertise / tools

• Carry out specific outsourced tasks

Consultants vary in their focus:

• Generalists – assessment / strategy

• Domain specialists – methodology

• Subject matter experts

• Others

big firm?

guru?

specialists?

For More Information…

http://www.KarlAlbrecht.com