Many of the conflicts encountered in organisations arise from one-sided thinking. From being blind to interdependencies.
Posts Tagged: strategy
Right now, the capacity to pay attention, make sense, act and change ahead of the curve is the holy grail of most organisations and if it is not, it should be.
In his brilliant book The Laws of Human Nature, Robert Greene writes in praise of what he calls ‘reality groups’ – groups that are infused with a functional and healthy dynamic arising from their ability to maintain a tight relationship with reality.
Running the business is grounded in the here and now. It depends on data from the past. And it can be a relatively comfortable space because it deals with known facts. In contrast, changing the business is about the world outside the organisation and about the future. And the world outside is much bigger and more complex than the organisation – to the extent that it is essentially unknowable.
Marginal cashflow tells you how much working capital you require to achieve an additional € in sales. If the working capital requirement is greater than your gross margin you will run out of cash. Your business might be profitable but volume is detrimental to your survival. This is what ‘growing broke’ feels like.
When there are pressing challenges – there can be a tendency to forget about purpose. The survival instinct narrows the mind and the focus of attention. Sometimes we may regard it as a positive. But in narrowing the mind we risk eliminating a lot of useful data and therefore being blind to many of the options and opportunities presented by an immediate challenge.