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The Power of Muddling Through
Posted on: Monday, March 01, 2010
Sorry it’s been a while since my last blog post. The last few months have been busy with conferences and consulting engagements. Not surprisingly, the topic I have been asked to address frequently is “how to do more, faster with less”. As many organisations narrow their scope away from the battle for growth towards the fight for survival leaders face increased demands with decreased budgets.
Whilst, in the medium term, I see the current climate as an opportunity to build a new and more effective way to lead, focused on increased collaboration and engagement, I am also called upon to offer immediate tactics to leaders facing immediate crisis.
When this happens I talk about the most underrated yet most powerful tool leaders have at their disposal - the power of muddling through.
What the current crisis is forcing us to rediscover is what my good friend Shaun O’Callaghan, author of the forthcoming book ‘Turnaround Leadership’ calls hand to hand combat - the idea that business is not about some grand theory learnt on some MBA programme but rather, about a leader’s ability to fight each and everyday on the high street for her customer’s attention.
The fact that I have moved away from the fighting analogy he uses (I do question the adequacy of fighting analogies) and renamed this the power of muddling through doesn't mean that Shaun isn’t onto something important. Namely that
- to be successful in dealing with the current crisis leaders have to get back to the fundamentals of business
- these fundamentals are not theoretical concepts born out of deep strategic insights
- rather they are about directing the entire energy of the organisation towards the direct delivery of results.
I make no apologies for this sounding rather simplistic. Successful business are simplistic by their very nature.
Over the last decade we have focused on grand plans and broad theories. Seemingly unlimited resources have blinded us to the needs to come together as one to focus on the simple reason for our existence. The pain of this current crisis comes from the fact that most agents in most organisations have forgotten both the purpose of the organisation and/or how what they do connects to it.
So what does muddling through look like in practice. Here are the step
1. Don’t waste your energy fighting the constraints you face
I know I’m the first one to urge people to question everything but let me be clear; stop moaning that things are unfair - they are - that budgets should grow not be cut - they won’t - that top people should get the strategic importance of what you do - they probably should and might even do but right now they don’t care.
2. Consign powerpoint to the dustbin of history
In a fight for survival we’re talking real bullets not bullet points. If you need powerpoint your message is not simple enough. Craft a simple message (twitter style 140 characters of less) that tells everyone what the fight is about. Call this you philosophy of work if you need a grand title but what we’re talking about here is what are we here to do and how are we going to do it.
3. Unify
Get out and talk to everybody about that one thing. Explore with them how best to deliver. How can they all work together? What are the tasks that need completed? and please LET THEM GET ON WITH IT. If you don’t trust them to do it without you then either you or they are the wrong people for the job (which is another story altogether)
4. Personify
This time it’s personal. You have to be up front, in the stores, in the offices, wherever the action is taking place and you have to believe. If you don’t then look for another job.
Muddling through means getting together to make sense of the world and our future within it. Collaboration and leadership are the two variables that will help you be innovative enough to thrive in the current crisis. The only other help will be Shaun’s book but you’ll have to wait a couple of months for it to come out (see below)!
Other current blog items
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DigitalNow - Are you IN
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Talent Management - just a thought
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The rule of false equity
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Flashforward and leadership
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down logic lane
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No pain plenty of gain
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First do nothing
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the leadership song
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The biggest con on planet business
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Is incentive pay damaging your business?
Posted on: Sunday, August 30, 2009
The ROI of nothing is nothing
Posted on: Tuesday, August 11, 2009
Buy it, read it, get down with the kids
Posted on: Thursday, August 06, 2009
Lean or skinny - is your organization healthy?
Posted on: Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Leading the Torchwood way
Posted on: Tuesday, July 14, 2009
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