All good ideas spring from original thought or careful synthesis. I say that because I think I have a good idea, but it is the result of synthesis not original thought by yours truly. I've been thinking about the organization of the future, after reading and hearing Hamel and Dan Pink, and reading and listening to Seth Godin. The material that informed the following discussion is based on The Future of Management, Pink's discussions at TED and Seth Godin's concepts on Tribes.
Here goes. The characteristics of an organization of the future are:
- Nimbleness
- Adaptiveness
- Ability to partner
- Speed (in decision making and in action)
- Decisiveness
- Flexibility
- Clear definition of purpose
- Places value on human knowledge and capital
- Communication
Why are these factors important?
Nimbleness is important because of the pace of change, which is accelerating. A long lived product today may last six to 12 months, whereas only a few years ago product lifecycles were several years or more. Whole industries change, rise and are eliminated in a period of a decade now. The same is true for adaptiveness. Firms must understand and communicate what they do well, but must understand that as markets and demands change, they must adapt to the market. Firms that fail to do that effectively (GM/Chrysler as examples) won't often be propped up by the government.
The ability to partner is critical going forward. Few firms will be able to "go it alone". They won't have access to new technologies, or markets, or knowledge. Firms that understand how to partner and build communities (and platforms like the Apps for iPhone) will succeed.
Speed in decision making is important due to the pace of change and the increasing number of competitors and substitutes. While you are pondering and thinking, and waiting for the decision to work its way up through 10 levels of management, the competition is testing alternatives and prototypes and is releasing its second or third version of a product or service. Who wins? The firms with the most insight, experience and knowledge. You don't gain knowledge by waiting for decisions.
Next let's consider purpose. Hamel and Pink argue that people want to work where they are engaged and on topics where their passion lies. A firm that has a clearly defined purpose and communicates that purpose effectively will attract people who have passion for their work. In the future, human capital, intelligence, knowledge and the sheer desire to create new and interesting things will win over efficiency and process. Note that we placed communication on the list - not just communication to customers, but to employees. The firm that has the best communication about its strategies, goals and outcomes will attract and retain the best people, and has less work to do to attract customers and partners. We don't need broadcast marketing anymore, social media will help us determine which firms are true to their goals and deliver the products and services we want and need.
If you are still with me, then which firms today have these attributes? Few that I've seen, but I'd like to hear your thoughts. It will take a tremendous amount of work to transition the existing firms to align to these goals and attributes, but they must start now or get left behind by the new entrants and disrupters that are gearing up and have these attributes as part of their DNA.
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