11/21/2023 0 Comments Ants in a death spiral![]() The FD wanted to hire a couple of senior interim finance specialists to solve the problem until I pointed out a headcount of 200+ finance people simultaneously failing to execute their duties was far from coincidence. A fundamental lack of strategic thinking resulted in a cycle of soaring overheads, ever decreasing efficiency and effectiveness, and the newly appointed 5th FD was on the verge of doing exactly the same. Each compounded the issue by repeating the same decision making cycle as their predecessors. All failed in attempts to solve this conundrum. Instead of developing efficient ways of working they dug themselves into a hole by repeatedly hiring more and more cookie cutter finance people under the guise of: If we just work harder…įour Finance Directors had been hired to lead this transformation in the two years previous. Our working environments are increasingly algorithmic, relying on strategic partnerships, trustworthy relationships and decentralised decision making to deliver meaningful outcomes, all of which are impossible without this keystone skill.Īn organisation I was hired to support had attempted a transformation, however the skillsets of the current senior leadership team had peaked. All things Jordan Peterson, Professor of Psychology at the University of Toronto, also highlights. These factors form an invisible funnel that filter Strategic Thinkers out of an organisation, suppress most of those that manage to make it through the selection process if they don’t leave, resulting in very few with the required level of creativity and intelligence making it to the top. ![]() Intelligence: The ability to solve complex problems correlates with IQ, the more complex the higher the IQ required. ![]() Recruitment: Strategic thinkers are creative, therefore disruptive and recruiting briefs typically seek cookie cutters.Ĭulture: Strategic thinking is, accidentally or deliberately, discouraged by leadership in favour of compliance and silo activity. I think there are 3 key reasons why this skill is underdeveloped, if not absent, in any organisation: In other words: Where are we, where do we want to be and how do we get there? Strategic Thinking is the ability to intimately understand and define a problem, create its’ solution and implement it. The keystone skill that must be present to leverage this tool is Strategic Thinking, which is actually incredibly rare. Resistance: Covert or overt opposition to suggested or required courses of action.Īnxiety: Unable to figure out how to manage a particular person, problem or task.įalse Starts: Frequently jumping from task to task, unsure of priorities, completing some, if any.įrustration: Inability to move anything forward regardless of how much effort is employed. Sabotage: Deliberately or unintentionally undermining your own or each others efforts. As you can see each level of strategy correlates with some form of human fallout when a level is missing or populated incorrectly.Ĭonfusion: People pulling in different directions, circuitous conversations & head scratching.
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