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A strategic planning tool: the scenario method
The scenario method does not claim to help predict the future. Rather, the objective is to identify the principal uncertainties that influence market trends in order to prepare effectively for different possibilities. In an increasingly unstable environment, this is a useful complement to the inherently rigid annual budgeting process.
To learn more :
¬ Leader 2.0 (Manageris’ Synopsis No.209a)
¬ Uncertainty and scenarios (Manageris’ Synopsis No.111a)
What is managerial courage?
Excerpt Manageris’ Synopsis No.136b
If there is one quality that distinguishes great leaders, respected team managers, or even high-potential employees, it is undoubtedly courage. Increasingly uncertainty, the need to make decisions rapidly, often unclear lines of responsibility, contradictory demands from different stakeholders make contradictory demands, etc. : all these constraints impose courage.
Courage must also be expressed every day, at every level in the business world. In fact, it is not enough to simply follow orders from management. The company expects its employees to act with courage in many circumstances.
However, it is not a question of taking unconsidered risks. The authors of "The Courage to Act" have highlighted various domains in which courage is critical to performance.
1. Courage to face the truth and to express it.
Lucidity is one of the first signs of courage. Many people prefer not to admit there is a problem, rather than recognize it and be forced to respond. The lack of courage is therefore often insidious, because it is easier for people to think of themselves as ignorant as cowardly! Furthermore, being aware of a problem is not sufficient if one does not dare to express it. At every company, there are impassioned hallway discussions where people vigorously express what they would have liked to say in a meeting “if they could have.” However, repeated acts of “minor cowardice” can ultimately undermine the performance of a team or a company.
2. Courage to rely on others.
A second form of courage indispensable to companies is daring to rely on others. Everyone knows that efficient delegation is critical to performance. However, the degree of courage to delegate is generally underestimated: you must be ready to relinquish control over results, you control over results, be ready to call into question, share information, etc.. Likewise, collaborate with others inevitably carries an element of risk. Work effectively in teams therefore requires this form of courage.
3. Courage to make decisions in risky or uncertain situations.
Making decisions without being able to weigh the consequences in detail, or to collect all desired information is difficult but essential. Companies need employees able to show initiative, which may sometimes mean daring to take action without receiving prior approval from superiors, for example. Conversely, someone can be courageous in deliberately choosing not to take action despite pressure from shareholders, superiors or employees!
4. Courage to work outside our comfort zone
Top-performing teams are those that dare to move outside the comfort of what they know, and push the limits. Setting ambitious objectives and having the persistence to pursue them in the face of adversity is a particularly critical form of courage in the business world. When confronted with a situation that is relatively satisfying, how many are willing to upset things to continue to improve?
5. Courage to impose rigorous standards.
Finally, a dimension that is often underestimated consists in imposing discipline and rigor on ourselves and others. Clarifying the rules and ensure they are followed is an essential part of the job of team manager or leader. This idea appears to clash with the vision of the glorious leader ready to take risks with its own perils. And yet, imposing discipline does take real courage: it takes a lot of motivation to define obligations whose benefits may not be visible in the short term. And work relentlessly to ensure that these rules are applied, especially since those thus constrained are unlikely to give thanks in return!
For more information :
- Courage, an essential leadership quality (Manageris’ Synopsis No.136b)
- The Courage to Act, Merom Klein, Rod Napier, Davies-Black Publishing,2003.
How to ensure progress in contested projects?
Many projects are faced with opposition. How can they then be prevented from getting bogged down? The initial reflex is to focus on trying to convince your opponents. This is a mistake! For example, it may be much more effective to concentrate your efforts on the project's supporters, leading them to convince the undecided and thus creating a force that will sweep any diehard opponents away. In politically sensitive contexts, you need to have a good view of all the players present, including those who don’t express themselves, in order to adopt the most suitable strategy.
To learn more :
¬ Lead projects successfully despite opposition (Manageris’ Synopsis No.211b)
Establish a framework for employee expression
Whether companies like it or not, a growing number of employees are accustomed to using the Internet to talk about their professional life or share information with customers, who in turn use these media to express their thoughts and feelings about the company and its products. Communicating a charter of good behavior can serve as a useful guide in this domain. The following are a few helpful recommendations in this regard:
To learn more :
¬ Leader 2.0 (Manageris’ Synopsis No.209a)
![The best ideas are worthless until they are implemented](images/blog/bandeau/1_ballons.jpg)
The best ideas are worthless until they are implemented
Companies generate many more ideas than they can implement. Admittedly, a wide variety of ideas must be produced in great number in order to select the best is an integral part of the innovation process. At the same time, the number of good ideas that end up falling between the cracks is astronomical.
In fact, the deployment of new ideas is far from natural in business organizations. When faced with a large number of radically innovative ideas or continuous improvement opportunities, the same phenomena are generally observed:
Efforts are spread too thin
The more ideas there are,the harder it is to implement them. Indeed, each new idea requires a significant expenditure of energy: imagine ways to implement it, convince the various stakeholders, develop a detailed action plan, solve the problems that necessarily arise, get people to abandon old habits... It’s a long, hard road from idea to action. Therefore, putting every single new idea into practice is literally impossible. A classic trap is spreading their efforts too thin by trying to deploy more ideas than they can reasonably handle....at the risk of failing to deploy any successfully.
Motivation tends to dwindle
Even when focus is placed on a single idea, maintaining the same level of motivation over time is difficult. Initial enthusiasm for a good idea tends to erode as small and large problems inevitably arise. This is especially true since initial rapid progress often gives way to slower and less visible advances as the project moves forward. So, the motivation fueling the project tends to peter out over time. Most innovative projects thus cross a plateau, where energy drops to the point of stopping altogether. The easiest and most common escape is to generate new ideas, which will be abandoned in turn when their implementation becomes too laborious.
Operational concerns take priority
Lastly, the biggest obstacle to the deployment of new ideas is the priority given to current operations over innovation projects. Indeed, operational tasks are visibly necessary, with short-term objectives, well-understood risks and rapidly tangible outcomes. Conversely, a great deal of time is often needed before the benefits of innovative projects become visible. Moreover, a delay on an operational task is more likely to be criticized than the failure to launch an innovation that everyone has always done without up to now. So, the temptation is strong to place priority on “urgent” operational matters to the detriment of new projects, no matter how important.
How to deal with these many obstacles?
The observation of the greatest innovators reveals some basic principles which help reduce the number of good ideas that get lost somewhere between their generation and ultimate execution. For example:
Continuously maintain an obsessive focus on action
Remaining continuously—almost obsessively—focused on action is the best way to keep ideas from remaining purely theoretical. The most innovative companies, such as Disney and Apple, for example, are distinguished less for the creative genius of their teams than for their remarkable discipline in terms of execution. Forcing yourself to restate and clarify your ideas systematically until they take the form of concrete projects helps minimize this risk. For example, you could insist that each meeting end with a list of concrete action items, with targeted deadlines. In this way, every idea that is “thrown out there” must necessarily be assessed in order to make a deliberate decision to pursue it,abandon it or set it aside for later study.
Be stringent in screening ideas to deploy
A second essential discipline is to limit the number of ideas selected for concrete execution. This may seem paradoxical when a company is trying to be more innovative. The experts point out, however, that applying this critical prerequisite keeps companies from spreading their efforts too thin and producing few results. A resolutely pragmatic approach is often most effective. Some consider that if a project is the subject of reminders around us - employees, superiors, customers, etc.- this is a sign that it deserves to be pursued.Conversely, if everyone forgets about it, the project is probably not as important as it may have originally seemed. As unconventional as it is, this approach is more effective than rational choice allegedly on the basis of a hypothetical return on investment!
Involve those around you
Many ideas die because they are developed in isolation. Indeed, observation of great inventors shows that they generally interact with numerous diverse groups and individuals. Another benefit from involving others is that the more we publically communicate our commitment to innovate, the more we feel obligated to move the project forward. This creates much of fuel to increase the probability that an idea is born.
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