With decades of work and client research, we have proven that inside-the-box thinking actually increases creativity, innovation and performance in companies. It is the key for leaders to increase alignment across the company and for employees to engage in new and more meaningful ways.
By creating the box, leadership is informing and connecting the fundamentals of their company, which can always be added to, expanded upon and amended. As a reminder, the four sides of the box are direction, operations, people and engagement. Last month in BIC, I described the philosophy of inside-the-box thinking and went into detail on the first side the box: direction. In this second article of a series on thinking inside the box, we will focus on the second side of the box: operations.
Side two: Operations
The operations side addresses an organization's ability to manage change and elevate performance through efficient systems and processes. This is especially important in the industrial services industry, where companies are being squeezed by both the customer and the craftsmen, who are in high demand, on cost as well as the critical need for safer, more streamlined approaches to the work to increase efficiency. The recognition of the need for strong, aligned practices, processes and systems, and the ability to execute on them are key differentiators in the space.
The most successful and enduring companies are able to effectively marry their strategy and operational focus to drive performance. A well-defined, articulate corporate direction begins to align the first side of the box with the three dimensions within the second side, operations: adaptability, performance management, and systems and processes.
Adaptability directly relates to change and how a company and its employees respond to change. For an organization that has clearly identified its box, leaders recognize that change is ongoing and create an optimal environment in which adaptability is part of the way the company operates. Leadership identifies, anticipates and makes way for adaptation as part of change instead of as a result of change.
Building a sustainable organizational foundation requires a defined performance management platform in place. This means having clear data metrics for behaviors, outcomes and actions that are an integral part of key initiatives. Without proper metrics, quality feedback and directional intelligence are impossible. We have always seen that performance is not driven by the environment but rather by the expectations we set for the company, the leaders and the workforce. Developing systems and practices that encourage and measure what matters most drives intentional results across the company.
The final dimension -- systems and processes -- exists to streamline work, making it more efficient and ultimately easier for every employee, from top to bottom, to work within an organized system. We work with leaders to identify the systems and processes that drive desired outcomes. In doing this, we often find a strong core of systems that perform well, while a handful are either inefficient or outdated and actually create extra work, frustrating the workforce. By aligning the systems and processes with other dimensions, organizations can dramatically increase their ability to achieve their operational metrics.
Outcome
By addressing the operational side of the box, one industrial services company, after a potentially contentious merger, leveraged its competence in adaptability to allow both companies to come together -- not as previous rivals but as one unified company. The high adaptability quotient of the acquiring company allowed leaders, mid-level managers and frontline workers to accept the change and ultimate adoption and integration of their rivals' performance management platform. This increased operational efficiency and output across the company demonstrate the power of the box and the importance of the second side.
For more information, email Deutser at bdeutser@deutser.com or call (713) 850-2105.
