Dr. Al Vicere had an outstanding webinar last week. And the dialogue with Howard Morgan was fascinating. (We’re planning to post some of those questions and answers in weeks to come.)
If you missed this valuable event, or would like to listen to it again, you can still register for a streaming feed of the recording.
Al’s presentation began with a discussion of the incredible amount of societal change and economic pressure we’re encountering today. Socially, we’ve entered an era of frugality. Households, governments, and organizations are spending less. The US share of GDP is going to fall in the future. All of this has tremendous implications for business.
At most organizations, leaders are tightening the belts, focusing on efficiency, trying to stabilize during terrible conditions, and also, preparing for the upswing to come.
For leaders, it can be incredibly difficult to straddle those two directions at once. A theme emerged, one that would be emphasized over the next 90 minutes.
Leaders need to look out and see what’s happening in the world around them – the demographic trends, the market forces, the competition – in order to make good decisions about what the organization should do internally.
To explain the mechanics of that difficulty, Al laid out his DNA model – Direction and Alignment. Like the genome, an organization’s growth and operating instructions can also be decoded. The double helix structure of organizational DNA is composed of the twin strands – Roots (history and operations) and Wings (change and innovation.) The code that defines a particular organization is found in its components of Strategy (future state), Leadership (momentum towards future state) and Culture (the forces sustaining that momentum.) Together, these connect the organization’s past to its future.
Drawing on his survey of 12,000 leaders, Al stated that most organizations define themselves as follower-perfectors with aggressive take-charge people, backed up by competent technology supporters. Those leaders are trying to work in teams but are often stuck in silos. They’re focused on extracting maximum value from the current asset base and moving into related markets. They feel passionate for the organization and challenged in their jobs, bu they’re increasingly conflicted about loyalty and long-term commitment.
The question becomes, will such organizations, with leaders who are incredibly focused internally, be able to see dramatic new opportunities, let alone act on them? Al’s research shows that the average organization is doing little in that regard, despite any rhetoric about leading the way, and that spells big trouble at a time when survivors must also be innovators.
