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
A quick note for the history buffs among us – in this month of August fifty years ago, the first components of the Berlin Wall were constructed with rings of barbed wire severing Berlin into visually distinct west and east Berlin. Russia’s main challenge at that time was the 10,000 or so East Germans each…
Read More >Let me start by saying that my Masters of Science qualification is NOT held in economics and with that said I’m holding an interested person’s perspective toward wanting to know ‘why’ and ‘how’. I have some questions and thoughts about the theory of Supply and Demand and would be happy to have some feedback from…
Read More >Below you’ll find this afternoon’s discussion with ABC Darwin radio in which host Vicki Kerrigan chats with futurist Marcus Barber about the emerging research into lab grown meat as a potential addition to or replacement of, existing livestock farming methods. The program streamed live on 105.7 ABC Darwin this afternoon, discussing the University of…
Read More >Continuing the futures discussions on ABC Darwin Radio, this time with Paul Dale who is filling in for Vicki Kerrigan whilst Vicki is handling the breakfast time slot, we discuss some of the conference sessions at the World Futures Conference here in Vancouver You can listen to the audio stream here and cue this…
Read More >My slides from today’s presentation on ‘Getting You Future Right’ can be found at the link below To those at the session, my apologies for the technical challenges and hope these slides can provide more context for you – contact me if you have any questions. Access the Slides Here
Read More >Here’s the upload of my conversation with Vicki Kerrigan at ABC Radio Darwin. In it I offer the first three of ten steps designed to help you get your future right. In last week’s session I left Vicki with a question to ponder: Is my life headed where I want it to go, and if…
Read More >Futurist Marcus Barber will be joining ABC’s Vicki Kerrigan in Darwin for the first of an ongoing discussion about the future this Wednesday. Each week on Wednesday afternoon’s, Vicki and Marcus will discuss the future of something, how we prepare for the future, what the future looks like for some industries and other related futures…
Read More >The panel session at the National Manufacturing Week 2011 went well though with four of us on the panel, time was quite compressed. Some really good thoughts from Phillip Chindamo from AIG, Damon Cantwell from Deloitte and Erol Harvey from Minifab, delightfully chaired by Sandra George from SEBN at the City of Greater Dandenong. Rather…
Read More >On Thursday I’ll be part of the panel that wraps up the National Manufacturing Week 2011 in Melbourne at the Melbourne Convention & Exhibition Centre under the theme of Meeting the challenges of the next generation of manufacturing with a focus on Innovation and Sustainability. It should be an interesting chat as we consider what…
Read More >There’s lots to like about borrowing ideas from other areas especially where those ideas can lead to a significant positive shift. In the link below, Zaid Ali Alsagoff an educational blogging specialist highlights why the Finnish Education system stands as a potential model to embrace. And whilst there are examples of this type of thinking…
Read More >