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July 17, 2009
Create Change.
I was in a meeting with a client yesterday, and we were discussing strategies for a cross-media fulfillment program. This particular client has recently been through some large merger activity and the meeting involved people from each of the original organizations.
Not unexpectedly, the final approach settled on conceded to political and cultural reality. "This is how our sales teams are used to working." "Sales people can be knuckleheads, so we need to keep it simple." And with that, we elected to follow the path of least resistance, and not necessarily the forward-thinking path.
Unfortunately, many of the attendees comments reflected reality. Implementing new strategic directions can be organizationally challenging. But that does not make the final decision the right one. Part of the reason for the decision was a need for expedient implementation and the simplification of near-term process was deemed appropriate. While the need for speed was real, in the world of hyper-change in which we operate, there is NEVER a good time for implementing process that change organization behaviors. So, in some cases, there is no time like the present. And in this case, the decision delays implementation of a strategic initiative intended to push the client deeper into an online solution...something appropriate for the markets in which they operate: high-end financial services.
The decision in this case was minor, and the implications small. But their process for decision-making is common, and risky in dynamic markets. Financial services is a world of contradictions -- wildly technical and sophisticated back-ends fronted by staid and conservative client-facing processes. But those front-ends are becoming increasingly important as clients seeks access to information that exposes the truth behind their investments. That means that "it's the way we do things" is the right answer in fewer and fewer situations.
Take a look in your organization and think if that same behavior is occurring. In the depth of recession, it is bold leaders willing to forge new paths who often emerge as the leaders. Finding the opportunities to Create Change is a way to break from the pack and build differentiating value in tight markets.
Posted by jcioban at July 17, 2009 9:16 AM
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