The Four Phases of an Adaptable, Resilient and Sustainable Organisation
There are four phases of thinking that every organisation MUST have available to them if they plan to be resilient to challenges, adaptable to changing circumstances and able to sustain themselves over time. The Phases are Strategic; Operational; Execution; and Evolution. If you miss any one of them or underplay an area, sooner or later you are going to get bitten. HARD
The Strategic Phase is about Direction and the Big Picture. It’s about selecting the major issues that matter most to your organisation – it’s the WHAT aspect. The Operational Phase is about preparing and selecting the resources you will need and working out HOW those resources will be used. The Execution Phase determines the WHEN something gets done. The Evolution Phase addresses the need to learn, improve and become something better, different if needed.
The Phases are distinct in terms of the required capability needed to do them well. In addition, the need to enable a smooth transition between each phase is also required. What I refer to as th ‘hand-off’ from one area of thinking to another is much like the passing of a baton during a running relay. Both aspects need momentum – too much from one and the baton gets dropped or not handed off. The hand-off is typically best handled conversationally rather than strict rules. Guidelines and process matter, but they will not survive poor communication and shared understanding.
The hand off is a realisation that Strategic Thinking doesn’t determine HOW. The hand off is that the Operational Phase isn’t where the DO happens, nor the WHEN. The hand off from Execution is that it doesn’t decide ‘now what?’. And as the loop continues, the hand-off is that Evolution does not decide the next idea of Focus for the new Now.
So there you have it – Strategic; Operational; Execution; and Evolution. Four phases that organisations looking for success MUST work through on an ongoing basis in order to embed resilience, adaptability and sustainability
The Trucking Industry, as a key part of the wider Supply Chain and Logistics Industry is coming to the end of an era, right at the time when it should be being refreshed. Put simply, there just aren’t enough drivers for trucks, and to date, attempts to recruit more drivers have been less that what…
Read More >In case you haven’t had time to keep up with these events, here’s a quick overview of the Everyday Sexism project’s attempts to hold FaceBook to account for its explicit support of sexual violence against women as portrayed in the many permitted Facebook pages that promote rape, rape culture, and violence against women. Facebook appears…
Read More >Today I have a bee in my bonnet, so please look away if my frankness might bother you. In the last couple of days I’ve had yet another conversation with a Local Council planning team manager about Strategic Planning for their Council that bothered me a great deal. What really has me bothered is that…
Read More >Whilst many people have heard about Drones in terms of their military applications, the concept of micro drones and their use in civilian settings is not quite so well known. It appears that the surveillance capability that technologies like Drones provide, are edging their way into more social environments. That may or may not be…
Read More >The link below will take you to the audio of the discussion I had with Annie Gaffney on ABC Radio Sunshine Coast the day after the Opposition released its Broadband policy. There’s been much discussion about the perceived value or otherwise, and I flag my bias here upfront: As a small business owner likely to…
Read More >In the article I link to below, Diana G Oblinger, the President of EDUCAUSE offers the Higher Ed community some insights such as this one: we’ve moved on from the Information Age and are now in the Connected Age. Such a statement will come as quite a shock for many Higher Education Institutions and policy…
Read More >In case you haven’t heard, technology is making so many jobs redundant, that only the adaptable will survive. And when I say ‘jobs redundant’ I mean across EVERY conceivable industry and level of specialisation. Robotic surgery is now so good that not only can it be done remotely, it can be done without human intervention.…
Read More >Coca Cola, Lion Nathan and Schweppes have successfully challenged the Northern territory’s compulsory container deposit recycling scheme in the Federal Court. The scheme had seen recycling rates jump by 30% in just a few months and was widely applauded by the public as the right thing to do. Despite the overwhelming public support, Coca Cola…
Read More >If you’re looking for an accelerated course in Strategic Planning and Advanced Management techniques in the Philippines in July, then TruEventUs has a two day session coming up on the 4th and 5th of June. Marcus Barber, founder of The Australian Strategic Planning Institute will facilitate this intensive program. For full details You can…
Read More >Without putting too fine a point on it, most of us pay little attention to what we ‘deposit’ in our toilets each time the body needs to exit our bodily waste. And yet with a looming phosphate shortage around the world (along with other useful components) our personal waste streams are worth billions of dollars…
Read More >