
“Alignment” is more than a buzzword: for
organizations that are really serious about peak performance,
it’s a strategic imperative.
By
Rodger Dean Duncan, Ph.D.
As the old
adage says, "If you don't know where you're going, any path will
get you there."
Amazingly,
many organizations – even in this age of sophisticated
technology and management tools – still try to navigate the
waves of change without a guidance system. The results are
nearly always disappointing at best, disastrous at worst.
Strategic
Alignment:
A Simple Approach to Tough Questions
Smart
business people are learning that rapid change can swallow them
up. So they're looking for simple answers to the tough
questions:
-
What's
really happening in our business?
-
How
can we stay competitive with our current product or service?
-
What
adjustments do we need to make?
-
What
new opportunities should we pursue?
-
How
can we best position ourselves to make good things happen?
One way to
get reliable answers to such questions is a process called
Strategic Alignment.
Strategic
Alignment is relatively simple, and it has the advantage of
forcing you to take a wide-angle, holistic look at every
important part of your business.
The result
is a kind of decision making compass that helps you stay on
course as you navigate toward the "true north" you've chosen for
your business.
Fighting
Fragmentation
In a
nutshell, Strategic Alignment is a critical ingredient of all
good strategic planning. It is not an event. It is a process. It
is not some warm and fuzzy add-on. It is a business-like
approach to the real issues of running a business.
A critical
challenge facing many organizations is fragmentation: people,
systems, structure, strategies, style, skills and other
performance ingredients that (despite sincere effort) somehow
lack harmony and cohesion. (Sound familiar?)
Fragmentation is an illusive enemy. Unfortunately, there's a
temptation to apply a Band-Aid rather than identify and address
root causes. This kind of "tampering" often produces a cure that
can be worse than the original ailment.
Example:
if you walked into an overheated control room of a nuclear power
plant and began adjusting dozens of instruments randomly, the
results could be catastrophic. So it is with organizations.
It's been
said that every organization is perfectly aligned to
get the results it is getting. A sobering thought. If
your organization is perfectly aligned to get the results it is
getting, and if you are not satisfied with those results, then
Strategic Alignment is not a luxury. It is an imperative.
Begin With
a Paradigm Shift
Strategic
Alignment
is a
process that begins with a paradigm shift. The organization is
not a machine to be "fixed," it is a living organism with many
interrelated elements. The successful leader, then, is less of a
mechanic and more of a gardener.
The
leader/gardener does not rely on chance, but deliberately and
strategically creates an environment in which his business will
prosper.
The
leader/gardener tends to every one of the interrelated elements.
The
leader/gardener cultivates carefully. Because of this "big
picture" mentality, he has more control over results than the
mechanic ever dreamed about.
Yes, we
have a mixed metaphor here — navigating waves of change,
mechanic vs. gardener. But you get the idea. To make your
business perform best, you need to deal with all the
interrelated parts in an integrated way.
The
illustration here shows the various components of a typical
organization. At the center are the shared principles, often
articulated as Mission, Vision and Values.
These are
at the very core of the model, just as you would find an
effective, self-directing person with core beliefs and goals at
the center of his life.
The model
on this page shows the components that enable an organization
to conduct its business – including the so-called "hard
elements" of Strategy, Structure and Systems,
along with the so-called
"soft
elements" of Style, Skills, People and
Self. Competitive forces and social elements are illustrated
by Environment. The basic idea is to keep all the
elements aligned so the organization can be consistently
navigated toward its "True North," thereby meeting
Stakeholder Needs.
Avoid the
Detours
Like all
good models, this one is uncomplicated and it focuses attention
and energy on the things that really make a difference.
Though the
idea is simple, using Strategic Alignment can be fraught with
costly detours. To get on the right path and stay there, try the
following steps:
1.
Clarify Your Destination
This step
is every bit as critical as clarifying the core
principles or "doctrines" that guide an individual in his
personal life. Tempting though it may be, this is
not the place to take short cuts. It is in this
step that you do a lot of honest soul-searching to
clarify your organization's Mission, Vision and
Values.
Look at
annual reports or company brochures nowadays, and you know that
Mission, Vision and Values statements are definitely in vogue.
Trouble is, many companies seem to regard them as public
relations platitudes rather than as the strategic and
operational guidance tools they can and should be. Lack of
clarity – and commitment – around core principles is one of the
most common root causes of poor performance.
A good
Mission Statement
does three things:
1.
Defines
by
providing an enduring statement of purpose,
2.
Sets
boundaries by identifying the scope of operations in
terms of product(s) and market(s), and
3.
Clarifies
the core
priorities.
An
effective mission statement is often no longer than a dozen
words, it's clear and concise, it's specific, and it contributes
to the "psychological ownership" and pride of the organization's
people.
A good
Vision Statement, by
definition, looks to the future:
1.
It
provides a concise word picture of what the organization
hopes
to "look like" at some future
time
2. It articulates what the organization aspires to be,
and
3.
It describes an ideal to be pursued.
Good
vision statements tend to be evocative rather than
precise. In their simplicity and evocativeness, they can have a
more profound influence on real behavior than binders full of
strategic plans and detailed documentation.
They can
be likened to an organizational dream. They stretch the
imagination and motivate people to rethink what is possible.
A good
Values Statement
provides a guidepost that:
1. Directs
the thoughts and actions of people,
2. Defines
the organization's character,
3. Describes
what the organization stands for (and will not stand
for),
and
4. Highlights
behaviors critical for success.
Remember –
Mission, Vision and Values are serious business. It's a
dangerous mistake to shortchange the importance of drafting
these carefully and involving people throughout the
organization (even if it's only a focus group or two). And be
prepared to "walk the talk." Nothing erodes morale faster than
seeing behaviors that are tolerated (or even rewarded) when they
violate professed values.
2.
Get Your Bearings
Take a
detailed look at each "ingredient" in the Strategic
Alignment model. This is much, much more than a
cursory analysis. Do it right or don't do it at all.
Use a
Holistic Approach
Avoid the
trap of conducting a traditional "employee attitude survey."
Remember that "attitudes," as well as behaviors, are driven by
underlying assumptions. A culture assessment survey can
be a very effective tool for getting your bearings, and it needs
to be specially tailored to your organization’s unique mix of
issues. And it should give you a reliable measure of the
cultural assumptions at play in your work place.
Two
critical things to remember about surveys: 1. Ask the right
questions. 2. Avoid asking the wrong questions.
If you ask
the wrong questions you'll still get plenty of data. But the
fancy charts, graphs and tables will lead you to chase the wrong
issues. To be effective in your strategic alignment work, you
must deal with root causes, not just superficial symptoms.
That's where expertise in culture assessment is so critical.
Poor surveying is not just ineffective. It can actually do
serious harm.
A common
side effect of a culture assessment survey is denial – as
in "Sure, that kind of stuff goes on around here. But it doesn't
apply to me and my group!" To avoid the detour of denial,
don't stop with assessing the culture as a whole.
Also take
a close look at the performance of key individuals by using a
360- degree or multi-rater instrument (again, tailored to your
organization's unique mix of issues) ... and profile the
effectiveness of key groups like service departments and project
teams. With all the bases covered, you get richer data and you
enable people to focus on necessary change rather than on
denial. The idea is to address and solve problems, not assign
blame.
3. Course
Correct
Bear in
mind that the whole idea behind Strategic
Alignment is that it channels your energy to focus on
all the critical components of your business and to consider
their interrelated effects on each other.
Strategic alignment is about leadership
because it's a valuable tool for empowering
people to make vision happen.
And it's about management
because it focuses laser beam energy
on planning, organizing, controlling
and problem solving.
This
distinction between leadership and management is neither
arbitrary nor semantic. Both are necessary to the vitality of
your organization. And Strategic Alignment provides a useful
compass as you navigate the seas of a competitive business
world.
(For
additional information, click on
ChangeSmarts)
© The
Duncan Company, All Rights Reserved