I had the opportunity to do a workshop recently with a group of senior executives where we spent some time thinking about this question: “what has changed to make the process of getting growth and change programs done in firms so difficult?”
During this discussion, we talked about the dismal 12 percent success rate (see report here), and then made a long list of why it’s getting harder and harder.
One persistent symptom that came up, is that when we step on the gas in our firms, in many cases we’re getting lower returns for our efforts than we did a year ago. Faster, Better Cheaper is being called out as no longer sufficient and the pressure of investment in labor, equipment and facilities, along with weak pricing pressure, has all conspired to make the core business models less effective. The examples are all around us: BMW is struggling even though they are building the ultimate driving machines, IBM is working to get back on the horse with AI and Quantum and core manufacturer Caterpillar has struggled to move the needle.
Then we asked ourselves why we had a hard time developing growth and things got interesting…
The meta topic was the dark side of digitization. Specifically, how the tools we have enabled in our firms tend to drive us toward more and more action on a 24/7 basis. These tools have tethered us to the core business in a way that was unknown even a few years ago. We talked about just how many “feeds” call us. Slack was going to relieve email pressure and CRM’s like Salesforce were going to reduce the load on the sales team. ERP was going to allow better reporting, visibility and focus.
All of these tools have delivered incremental results. But the elephant in the room is this: they all place an even higher burden on the humans in the system to be the integrators and decision makers.
By setting these tools in a way that asks for – and in some ways hacks – our instant attention, we can miss the directional work for the transactional.
Our systems of continuous improvement – weaponized with digital support – place us on an addictive treadmill that makes us feel alive and engaged, when in fact the platform we are standing on is headed for obsolescence. It feels so good to be heads down and engaged that we don’t look up and see the escalator moving in reverse.
Building this out a bit, we developed three connected thought streams that may help you in your work, as well.
Step 1: Substitute Immersion for Insight
The “feeds” our digital minions bring our way tend to keep us in the “river,” that is the stream of insight and thought that aligns with our interest footprint, and is homologated along conventional lines. We can read all day and simply reinforce our view that we are on the right track, and that the meme of the day will improve our performance if we only push harder, faster and put more wood behind fewer arrows. Rarely does our reading list recommend something outside the orthodox content stream that would be helpful.
So, knowing this, how do we then escape this digitally-induced, self-reinforcing comfort zone?
Step 2: Intentionally Curate That Which you Invest Your Mind In
Simply said, we need to be more intentional in the way we invest our attention. We talked about how to expand our views by taking an inventory of where our attention is going. We can then step back and see if that path is edited to be homogenous, or if it is providing new and strong thinking that challenges us.
Some suggestions that came out of our discussion:
- Make an inventory of where we spend our attention and see if we are investing in a portfolio of thought, or one large conventional body of thought.
- Intentionally get ourselves in new situations. Visit other businesses, go on new vacations, try some new music in Spotify or listen to a new podcast to bring some dissonance into your world.
- Be really choosy about your reading. We invest a lot of time into books, and the good news is that with podcasts, Goodreads and reviews, we can make much better choices about where we focus our attention.
Step 3: Seek New Frameworks
The surprising takeaway was that everyone in the room stated that their best work was done on reflection. It turns out that making time for that vacation, soccer game or walk around the pond is not just healthy for you as a person, it’s also a key business investment.
Having now worked with dozens of firms on breakout growth, I can tell you that the best kept secret is that the conference room is only half of the story. Equally important is the time spent outside of that room where you can reflect more clearly on the issues and growth projects discussed around the table.
I’m an absolute stickler for individuals doing their pre-work prior to a deep planning session. By doing the individual work up front, it adds rocket fuel to the session, and always takes us beyond the usual opinions and strong voices to new productive insights.
Making an Investment
These executives left committed to investing in their personal growth knowing that it will be reflected in the firm’s growth, as well. If you’d like to talk about the key frameworks that I use to quickly establish the right project, the right team and the right plan, please reach out. You can reach me at 847-651-1014, or use this link to set up a 20-minute chat.
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