This article first appeared in the July, 2003 edition of the Jacksonville Business Journal
Have you noticed how some organizations have the ability to change and adapt quickly and easily as their environments change? Conversely, do you notice how some companies don't seem to be able to adapt or adjust no matter what they do?
Having the ability to adjust rapidly to shifts in the business environment is essential. The faster our world changes, the more critical this becomes. There are lots of examples of venerable old companies that were legendary in their time but died because of their inability to change. Montgomery-Ward, A & P, Wang Laboratories, Digital Equipment Corporation and Oldsmobile are all pretty good examples.
Large companies provide well known examples. But the challenge is there for all of us regardless of company size or what position you hold. Companies all have to adapt to new technology, to the internet, to telecommunications, to competition, to shifting demographics, to changing environmental conditions and regulations, etc.
Companies that can adapt quickly will have a better chance at survival. Companies that can't, will die. Here are some principles that you can follow that will increase your organization's ability to flex and adapt quickly.
Give People Assignments - Not Positions
When people are given new roles in an organization, we present them as permanent positions. "Congratulations, Joe. You are now the supervisor of the manufacturing group." "Lillian, we are making you the head of the accounting department." "Sam, we're giving you the North Florida sales territory."
As long as the person does a good job, this role is theirs. And that's the problem. The job becomes THEIR job. And if circumstances require a change, they will resist unless they perceive it to be a promotion. This reduces organizational flexibility and adaptability.
Picture this fast growing engineering organization. As they grew, they gave engineers the role of "Group Leader." But this created two problems. First, some of them were great engineers, but pretty poor group leaders. But now that they had been given the job, returning them to their former role would have been a demotion and created morale problems. Second, as the company began to deal with the downturn in the economy, it suddenly had too many group leaders. Once again, anyone who lost his position as a group leader felt demoted.
The alternative approach is to treat almost all roles as assignments. Assignments are fundamentally temporary. They may be for several years, but they are not permanent. "Sam, we'd like you to take on an assignment as the Group Leader for the next year. Would you like that opportunity?" "Sally, we'd like to assign you as the Marketing Department Head. Let's see how you build this organization over the next year or two."
Giving someone an assignment makes it easier to shift and change. Positions reduce flexibility. Assignments maintain adaptability.
Conversely, if organizations move people and their structure around, they keep adaptability higher and encourage innovation.
A senor manager from IBM once said to me "IBM never re-organizes without a compelling reason. Of course, no major change in three years IS a compelling reason." They believed that the first year in a new assignment you need to learn how the work is done. You will add the greatest value during the second year. Then you need to stay for the third year to live with your changes and make sure they work. Then you should move on, bring innovation to some new area, and allow others to continue to improve your former group.
Cross-Train and Build Bench Strength
No organization can afford to have only one person with the knowledge or skills for a key area of the business. It makes the company vulnerable, and over time stifles new ideas and innovation.
Companies must build their talent pool - their bench strength. But sometimes, we don't have the budget or the need for additional people. Building depth should be addressed through cross-training. As people learn to do different jobs, they are more able to respond to the new needs, and the organization becomes more adaptable.
Maintain Core Work Processes
Some individuals are concerned that if assignments and organizational structure are changed too frequently, there will not be any stable basis for consistent operations.
That legitimate concern is best solved through well-defined core work processes. As people change assignments or as the business re-organizes, these core work processes provide the ability to ensure consistent performance.
Change is a condition of our business world. The amount and pace will only continue to increase. Our challenge is to embrace those changes with increased adaptability to provide sustaining competitive advantage.
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