Why Some People and Organizations Succeed…And Others Cannot
Question
Is it because they are:
- Older or younger
- Building quality or economical products
- Academic geniuses or high school drop outs
- Working long hours or working just enough
- (Insert your own answer here)…
One common characteristic of successful people and organizations is their ability to achieve what they set out to do. The single most significant barrier they encounter consists of the complexities that prevent them from doing so. An answer to the question above is that people and organizations that succeed manage complexity and those that don’t succeed fail to manage it or are overwhelmed by it.
Complexity
Complexities abound in today’s world. Consider these examples: Increased matrix management, three generations that think and act differently, multiple locations, different time zones, technology, competition, partnerships and numerous stakeholders. These are just a few of the complexities people and organizations must navigate in order to achieve what they set out to do. Just one of them can negatively impact us, and the more that exist, the more complex our work environment becomes. And it is only getting worse. You can be a rock star today, but fail tomorrow if the complexities surrounding you are not managed.
Complexity has always been with us, but it is accelerating and growing at a rate that can trump an individual’s and an organization’s ability to achieve what they set out to do. Back in 2010, IBM’s study shared their insight on this matter in Capitalizing on Complexity. After surveying more than 1500 executives worldwide, the findings revealed that complexity moved ahead of change as the primary challenge. The survey indicated that eight in ten CEOs expect their environment to grow significantly more complex, and fewer than half believe they know how to deal with it successfully.
Achievement Disconnect
Complexity creates disconnects between the short-term tasks and activities people carry out and the long-term strategies organizations seek to execute. The more complexity, the greater the disconnect. We do not believe that people are sitting around doing nothing or that organizations don’t know what they have to get done. The best people and organizations will fail if everyone does not stay on top of the complexities that can prevent achievement.
The trend toward increasing complexity continues with Harvard Business Review sharing in March 2015 that two-thirds to three-quarters of large organizations struggle to implement their strategies.
Erratic Performance
An important implication of the Achievement Disconnect is erratic achievement. In turn, that leads to erratic individual and organizational performance. We achieved and we did not achieve. We thought we achieved but actually we did not achieve. What you thought I was going to achieve is very different from what I thought I was supposed to achieve. Sometimes the failure to achieve is reflected in our performance immediately, but many times missed achievements do not show up until months, quarters or even years later. By then it can be too late. Our performance in the future depends on what we achieve today.
Conclusion
There is no unanimous or correct answer to the question at the start of this blog. People and organizations are different and what constitutes success for one person or organization can be quite different for other people and organizations. A parent staying home to raise a child, individuals working their way to the top, or an organization providing quality products and services are all examples of success, but only to those who are out to achieve those outcomes. Success, like beauty, is very much in the eye of the beholder.
Enabling more people and organizations to achieve what they define as success requires us to change our traditional approaches. Enterprise Outcome Management delivers the discipline, processes and tools that focus everyone on achieving those common outcomes that support individual and organizational success.