1999
THE MISSING LINK
C H R I S L O N S D A L E & A S S O C I AT E S LT D . Copyright 2004 Chris Lonsdale & Associates Ltd. and ChrisLonsdale.com
THE MISSING
ake a mid-sized SME (Small/medium LINK The Idea – Action Gap
it requires to pull away from the inevitable
T enterprise), with offices around the Asian region. The company is in a bad way, crash. And still the change never comes.
and change is imperative. Senior officers of The above company scenario is not the company have spent many months uncommon. We have seen similar situations discussing a new strategy for the organization. played out time and time again in the course Now the strategy is decided, and the of our work in Asia. And the same thing is company direction is clear. To survive the repeated in companies and organizations company must act on the strategy. To stay around the world. Company after company the same spells death – not immediate, with a great business idea or a great strategy, maybe, but inexorable. but no action. For some reason, there is a disconnect between what organizations know Yet, despite the best of intentions, there is they should do, and what they actually do. no action. It's business as usual. The same A disconnect between ideas and action. daily routine. Crises and fire fighting. Time spent doing the same old things, even though So, what causes this malaise that afflicts the strategy calls for new actions that must almost every organization in the world? A take place if it is to be rolled out successfully. major reason is precedent – doing things the way they have always been done, just It's like the driver of a car that is out of control, because "that's how it has always been heading towards a tree on the side of the done around here". A statement with no road. The driver knows that he has to change inherent logical validity, but one that is highly direction, but somehow just can't draw his effective in blocking change because it signals eyes away from the tree. Because, that's all the presence of a sacred cow. Most people,
C H R I S L O N S D A L E & A S S O C I AT E S
THE MISSING LINK The Idea – Action Gap
leaders included, tend to be very cautious simplicity, not complexity. when dealing with sacred cows and precedents. There are other factors operating as well. Often, fear in an organization prevents The power of precedent comes from the fact individuals from acting in a way that supports that humans don't like to think about things the organization as a whole. Or the fear very much, preferring to rely on old patterns. (both real and imagined) prevents authentic After-all, it would be very irritating to have communication. In this case, strategies that to reinvent the wheel every day for everything have been decided upon are actually that we do. inappropriate because they have been developed based on Vested interest is the i n a c c u r a t e other reason. Within any organization, there are certain individuals who benefit personally “ So, how can good ideas be turned into action in information. In such a situation no-one really feels comfortable acting an organization? from the status quo, and who will find ways to block change if that change is likely to affect their privileged they know it is wrong. ” on the strategy that has been decided, because deep down
position. It's just human nature. So, how can good ideas be turned into action There are other reasons for this idea-action in an organization? Remember that the gap. For instance, many in leadership issue is not about how to come up with a positions have the (unspoken) belief that, direction or a strategy, but how to ensure just because they have said something that a strategy gets implemented. should happen, it will. Anyone with experience in leadership and management It depends to some extent on the actual knows that this is not the case. situation that is present in a company. If there is a high level of fear, this must be This situation comes about for many reasons, reduced. In such a situation, it is the role not least of which is the fact that organizations of leadership to create a safe environment tend to reward fancy talk (which happens where authentic communication is possible. relatively quickly) rather than effective action (which takes time to unfold). Also, many There needs to be clear communication of organizations try to develop complex and objectives, measurement of how well the fancy strategies to beat their competition, company is progressing towards those forgetting that the key to success is not to objectives, and follow-up actions with be found in abstract beauty, but rather in timelines. Communication should not just effective action. Effective action requires b e o n e w a y, h o w e v e r. Feedback
C H R I S L O N S D A L E & A S S O C I AT E S
THE MISSING LINK The Idea – Action Gap
mechanisms must be put in place to ensure Too many companies fail to act simply that people in the organization understand because the natural delays in the business what is required of them. Participative system lead to a change in strategy just decision processes can contribute to action before results are generated. Often, when taking place, as long as appropriate results don't appear in 3 to 6 months mechanisms are put in place to ensure companies believe they must totally change follow up. their strategy. Unfortunately, more often than not this tends to create confusion and Where people don't have the necessary additional work without generating useful knowledge or skills training should be results. It is a bit like turning up the hot provided, and people should be supported water in a shower a second before the in making personal changes. temperature changes as a consequence of the first twist on the tap many seconds If there is active or passive sabotage of a before. In both cases, people tend to get company's new direction strict action needs burned. to be taken. In these cases bridges need to be burned, and critical changes forced As with any problem that is deeply rooted, through. Once a critical strategic change of course, the first step is simply to recognize has been identified, action to meet the that there is a problem leading to a gap strategy can be encouraged by establishing between the ideas that are generated in an barriers to prevent people falling back into organization, and the implementation of old patterns. those ideas. Once the problem is recognized, you keep thinking about it until The biggest key, of course, is consistency. such time as it gets seriously addressed. Essentially, leadership must stick with a direction long enough to generate results. This can really only happen when there is a deep understanding of the system dynamics operating in an organization.
C H R I S L O N S D A L E & A S S O C I AT E S
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Originally published 2004-12-23 · Legacy CMS article #6951