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Paranoia: The Foundation of Business Agility

North American Aircraft (NAA)produced around 42,000 aircraft during World War II that included the iconic P-51 Mustang and B-25 Mitchell bomber. employing over 90,000. At the conclusion of the war effort then company president James “Dutch” Kindelberger had a business problem.  What do we do now? The P-51 and B-25 lines were shut down. He put his executives to work to build a new, innovative business.  The results were astonishing with NAA developing the F-86 Sabre, the first military jet as well as other jet aircraft based off the Sabre technology.

I tell this story only to illustrate how quickly a business model can experience dramatic change overnight. I had the honor to work at NAA for several years following the end of the Cold War when a similar dramatic transition occurred. We would often raise Dutch as the model for embarking on a new, innovative era following the B-1 Lancer and Space Shuttle contracts expiration.

Are you prepared to adapt at a moment’s notice?  Do you have agility built into your business model and organization?  Can you adapt or will you die?

Business agility is crucial for organizations to respond to market changes and emerging opportunities quickly and effectively. Dutch Kindelberger was a leader that made change happen at NAA through his hands-on style and a strong focus on innovation and efficiency.

Here are the key components that make up business agility:

  1. Leadership: Agile leadership focuses on communication, collaboration, and commitment. Leaders develop others as leaders and work towards a shared purpose1.
  2. Governance: Effective governance ensures that decision-making processes are flexible and responsive to change. It involves setting clear guidelines and frameworks that allow for quick adaptation1.
  3. People: The workforce must be skilled, adaptable, and empowered to make decisions. Continuous learning and development are essential to maintain agility1.
  4. Culture: An agile culture promotes innovation, risk-taking, and a willingness to adapt. It encourages a mindset that embraces change and values continuous improvement1.
  5. Strategy: Agile strategies are dynamic and flexible, allowing organizations to pivot quickly in response to new opportunities or threats. This involves regular reassessment and adjustment of strategic goals1.

It’s easy to lay out the pieces required for business agility and the challenges to pull it off are numerous. Everything from our old friend resistance to change to the mechanics of having flexible processes.

In my experience, agile organizations are always in a state of change. Every planning cycle promotes investment in innovation. Andy Grove, the former president, and CEO of Intel, was famously known for the mantra, “only the paranoid survive.” Being paranoid isn’t a bad thing, it keeps us looking forward, not accepting the status quo as lasting forever.

A couple of tips to think about:

1. Always have an eye beyond the next 24 months. Look beyond the end of your desk calendar for possible disruptions and innovations.

2. Take succession planning seriously. Succession planning is not just for the most senior leaders in the business, it’s a process that should evaluate talent at all levels of the organization for either new opportunities or skill building.

3. Be honest and accountable. Be honest with yourself about the state of your business model and accountable for goal achievement. Don’t allow yourself to get comfortable or complacent.

4. Make changes in the business part of the business. Change is the only constant in life, make it part of doing business every day. Changes may be small but making it a norm in the culture will pay dividends.

Be paranoid…in a good way!  

July 10, 2024 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , , , | Leave a comment

THIRTY IS THE NEW TWENTY-ONE

Recently I’ve seen various pieces discussing why people don’t want to work anymore.  Is that true?

When I review the articles, they offer a list of circumstances that drive the perception that folks don’t want to work.  The reasons go from not enough pay to the rise of entrepreneurship.  Really!

In my experience interacting with clients, local universities, and just plain folk I don’t get the impression people don’t want to work anymore.  I do find that new graduates are much more selective about the roles and companies they choose to contribute their talents to for their work.  As is commonly the case with media of any type, social or print, hyperbole rules the day. 

Work drives self-confidence. Contribution to a cause or a goal in achieving a mission makes getting up every morning worthwhile. It’s just that these days young people want more than a paycheck. They have been so accustomed to the abundance of their childhood there’s a feeling that things continue status quo forever. 

I was chatting with a group of young associates the other day and they all were focused on discussing their next adventure in an exotic location or their personal fitness goals and preferred diet.  Of course, in their late 20’s none is married or has children.  Most live in rented apartments and drive older vehicles. So, I commented to them that the age of thirty is the new twenty-one. Boy was there an uproar.  “What do you mean?”  Well, being a baby boomer, the answer was clear. At the age of thirty most of my generation had a family, a mortgage, two cars, and had never been to Borneo on holiday.

The point here is that the impression that no one wants to work anymore is driven by the reality that work is a sideline to life for the generations succeeding baby boomers.  While boomers, like me, are in the waning stages of dedicated work lives. Hence, employers find it challenging to hire and retain a consistent workforce.

Culture, as described by language, rituals and artifacts of a civilization are changing in our time. No longer are the rituals of marriage and family associated with youth. The artifacts of success have changed from material wealth to a wealth of experiences and selfies. The language of work has been replaced by the language of health, fitness, and travel. 

Employers must be aware of the cultural change and adapt appropriately.

  • Clearly articulate the underlying mission of your organization so aspiring employees know what to expect.
  • Offer multiple accession tracks with off-ramps to accommodate a stop-out period for travel or mid-career maternity/paternity.
  • Be open to the virtual vagabond employee through planning where new hires may have an on-premises work requirement for a determined period before remote options are available.
  • Purposefully create cultural norms that represent the business to both internal and external stakeholders.

This cultural change is a tough nut for management.  It’s a 180-degree flip from what we as a culture have been accustomed to for over a century.  It’ll take time and effort to achieve the productivity desired of employees while meeting their intrinsic needs. Remember our friend Maslow?  Today’s workforce places self-actualization achievement over basic needs, they assume they will have their basic needs met somehow.

April 23, 2024 Posted by | Uncategorized | , , , , | Leave a comment