The Several Habits of Highly Effective Organizations

Constancy of purpose, to take a leaf from Dr Edward Deming, is one of the prime contributory factors to business success. It is a commitment to the long-term and connected with a continual improvement ethos. In order for any organization to become highly effective at sustaining its constancy of purpose it has to develop several habits.

The first of these habits is Strategy. Strategic planning and on-going reference to strategy is central to mobilizing people, empowering them and maintaining a greater level of control over results. Strategy as a habit is akin to taking regular compass bearings to ensure the venture is heading in the right direction. Companies should strive to become accomplished at strategic thinking as far down their organization as possible. The greater strategic awareness, the more attention to detail is paid. Detail is competitive edge.

In order for Strategy to be effectively put into action, a second critical habit needs to be developed. Culture. The way people think, communicate and act will also determine effectiveness. If Culture is a conscious habit, then there will be a consistency of approach throughout a business that reflects a common set of values and beliefs. It makes for the possibility of an environment in which people can excel. A great Culture is the product of great leadership.

If ‘Change is the only constant’ (Heraclitus), then it should be embraced. Change is another habit of highly effective organizations. They decide for Change rather than having to always react to it. It becomes a habit coupled with regular reference to strategy and the ability to move quickly because of a strong culture. Change, if it is a habit, is seen as positive and quickly adopted. Standing still in business is the same as dying.

Highly effective organizations are in the habit of referencing Principles. A business that is guided by Principles is able to make quicker, more confident decisions. A decision is a pivot between the past and the future. Strong, confident decision making is a reflection of clear strategic focus and translates into more committed action. Recognized Principles communicate integrity and unite teams. A Principle is only a Principle until it costs you something.

When things go wrong highly effective organizations listen. Real listening is linked to Openness. When a company sees success and failure as two ends of

the same stick, everything is simply information. Not only does openness allow focus to quickly move to solutions, it reflects confidence and security in its ability to cope with a setback. A blame culture cannot exist when the habit is to seek to understand, make a new decision and Govern Change. An organization is able to learn. Openness is the gateway to creativity and innovation.

Future Orientation is at the core of any effective enterprise. Habitually focusing on the future prompts the question ‘How do we move forward?’ and is action oriented. Future orientation is a reflection of a strategic organization with a culture and principles that propel it forwards. When a business is Future Oriented it will use time better and achieve more. Turn hope into expectation.

All organizational habits are characterized, exemplified and adopted by people. One more habit is finding, developing and retaining the Right People. Highly effective organizations are uncompromising in their recruitment. It is more about cultural fit than technical fit. They create a learning environment and encourage involvement. Training is a commitment to the people and appraisal is looked forward to. Management is rewarded and feedback is on a regular basis. People work without fear. It is people who deliver an organization’s results.


It is possible to build these habits deliberately, quickly and easily into any organization. Mitchell Phoenix has been transforming businesses with core business strengths for over twenty years.

Earth Hour 28th March 8.30-9.30pm

It is 'Earth Hour' this Saturday 28 March. The whole world is being encouraged to switch off all its lights from 8.30 to 9.30pm in an effort to encourage awareness over Global Warming. 2,848 cities, towns and municipalities in 84 countries have signed up so far.

When you create common goals for good its easy for people to sign up to them. Business take note.

Will you be switching off this Saturday?

Visions Are a Load of Nonsense

We are in an unprecedented period in world economic history. Banks have failed, companies have failed, the system has failed. It is being propped up with a $900 billion finger in the dyke and a prayer that it will hold. We've moved from Worldcom and Enron, who illegally pillaged the system, to the legal marauders who have now brought us to our knees.

Where did it all go wrong? Here is an example of why we are in the pickle we are in.

"General Motor’s vision is to be the world leader in transportation products and related services. We will earn our customers’ enthusiasm through continuous improvement driven by the integrity, teamwork, and innovation
of GM people."

Vision. What a crock that is! It is supposed to be the basis of strategy and here we have an example from one of the great businesses of the age demonstrating that vision in business is not understood.

The statement is mostly about them. What do we, the customer, get out of it? Enthusiasm! Look at where the vision has taken them...to the brink. You could also argue that not many people in GM were aware of the vision judging by their track record.

A vision like GMs is as good as useless to a business. Their vision is a goal with a bit of 'mission' thrown in. There is nothing in the statement to show what their contribution is going to be. A vision is not what can the world do for you, it is what can you do for the world.

Interestingly, as a result of the economic crisis and the car industries' begging bowl being held out that a truer vision is emerging in relation to greener policies. A vision should help business get what it wants, only make sure that there is also a contribution in return.

AIG Not To Blame

The furore snowballs as the insurance giant AIG pays out $165 million in bonuses to senior executives. Even President Obama has stepped in. So what's all the fuss about? AIG is only continuing in the way that it and many other financial organizations have been used to. They haven't had to take any responsibility for failure and the bailout money simply stakes them to have another go.

If AIG are not to blame for acting as they have, where does it lie? The fault lies with poor regulation and a lack of legislation that is connected with the overall purpose of management which is "To Secure the Future". The idea of a 'going concern' has been lost in pursuit of self enrichment and the pressure of short-termism.

An economic failure of this magnitude is a direct result of no strategic alignment of business with society. Who is to blame. We all are. We allowed it to happen and were happy as gambler on a hot streak at the casino while we were winning. Trouble is we refused to believe that we could lose.

Lack of Strategy not Leadership to Blame

Kwai Yu, founder of Leaders Cafe Foundation posted this on our Linkedin Group today....

"The $900 billion leadership training crisis - who's problem is it?

$900 billion is the conservatively estimated global spend on leadership training/education since the start of the millenium - i.e. 2000 - 2008. Today, the cries of "lack of leadership" is louder than ever and occupy more column inches in newspapers and business publications.

If a student leaves their education without learning anything ... you can blame it on the student, the teacher or the curriculum. When you have isolated cases of students leaving without learning - okay, you can blame it on the student. But, when you have spent $900 billion .... isn't it time we question the teachers and the curriculum?"

This was our reply....

That is a staggering figure and when I searched for more data all I came up with was the $900 billion bailout. Let’s hope it is more successful.

Measuring the impact of ‘leadership’ has always been a challenge, especially when soft skills are taken into account. It’s a bit like the old saying about advertising, “ only 50% of it works…trouble is I don’t know which 50%”. The Kirkpatrick Model of Training Evaluation is the best method I’ve come across, http://www.mitchellphoenix.com/readandlisten/Kirkpatrick_and_Mitchell_Phoenix.pdf

Evaluating leadership and management training requires effort and needs to feed into business planning, appraisal processes and recruitment. There is also the tendency to lump all sorts of soft skills training under the banner of Leadership, making true judgments over efficacy difficult. There is also a distinct link between leadership and management that needs to be addressed. Perhaps the $900 billion was well spent with not enough emphasis on management skills. I strongly sense that it is lack of strategy rather than lack of leadership that is the problem. There are plenty of dynamic, committed leaders out there who come unstuck by strategy, which is another skill that needs learning.

We also need to consider at what levels the budget is being spent. Most of it will be going to the junior/middle ranks who are then perceived to have been ‘trained’ as leaders. They receive no more input on their way to the top where they then divert budget back down the organization “because they need it more than I do”. Senior executives also have the “I’ve done that” attitude and the experience colors whether they value leadership training or not. What they fail to realize is that they were trained for then and not for now. The different demands on leaders at the top of the organization need to be emphasized and learned.

Leadership is seen as separate from strategy when in fact it should be part of strategy. If “lack of leadership’” is so often the cry why is leadership not a strategic imperative? My view is that most leadership training is not directly connected with the overall success of the business and that its power to deliver secure results is not truly understood.

When organizations understand the power of visible leadership day to day at all levels, sharing common values, principles and language they will reap the rewards. This means working on the culture of the business. The culture of an organization is a reflection of the strength of leadership.

It is not “lack of leadership”, it is lack of strategy.

Management Fads Fade Fast

How is it that management fads come and go so quickly? See what Mitchell Phoenix have to say in their latest press release. Click here

Computer says "No"

Mitchell Phoenix's latest press release draws attention to the growing need to control your business processes rather than let them control you. Read more here http://www.journalism.co.uk/66/articles/533774.php