Outperforming by "OutBEhaving"
By Bernard Chanliau, Wednesday 07 January, 2009
"In today's hyper-connected world power increasingly is derived through people - through relationships, authenticity, transparency and openness. The source of competitive advantage in the 21st century is such a new idea that it has not yet entered Websters or the Oxford." Outperforming by Outbehaving, Business Week, DonSeidman October 2008 (see link at bottom for full article).
In our commoditised business environment, we are running out of areas of differentiation but there is one area where tremendous variation and variability still exists - one that we have not yet analysed, quantified and systematised and one, in fact, that cannot be commoditised or copied - the realm of human behaviour.
Curious about what this might mean for your company? You should be and you should be thinking about it NOW. Becoming behaviourally differentiated is a slow burn, high return long term strategy that fundamentally and passionately transforms the culture and 'being' of your organisation to glow from the inside out.
"The new-age leaders must energise their people towards their vision, not their strategies... Culture is so much more powerful than strategy. If you name me the five top businesses, in the world, I'll show you five brilliant cultures, not necessarily brilliant strategies." Irish Director, Winter 2008.
Culture is NOT achieved via a marketing campaign or a training course and is far more reaching than hiring a few coaches with a fuzzy remit. It is challenging, it is a commitment and it demands levels of accountability throughout the organisation that you may have dreamed of but never seen before. It WILL increase productivity, though there maybe some casualties along the way, and it WILL deliver more business and more opportunity. Most importantly, it is the only way to embed the necessary behaviours for sustainability and innovation at the heart of your organisation, in the hearts of your people.
For this reason, the stamina, foresight and vision of the leaders to steer and hold this powerful journey for your company is key, supported by consultants, experienced in human behaviour, action learning and business, that stimulate fresh thought, help you see with new eyes and analyse the underlying issues and then provide practical knowledge and action learning support in formulating solutions for excellence. Possibly the most powerful seismic shift since the automation of supply chains.
Xenergie's Strategic consulting maps the journey from strategy through to implementation of what it means and takes to be behaviourally differentiated, as well as the potential ROI that you can expect.
How it Begins
Our Organisation Analysts explores HOW your company behaves currently and the forces and factors that are engaged and disengaged in your "system":
"System Testing": We define company as "the system" created by the people, processes, artefacts, rituals and associated systems, as well as "the context" created by the market environment and other external factors. To do this work, we study the conscious and unconscious behaviour of the organisation, through shadowing meetings and teams, group work, 360 exploration with stakeholders to gather evidence that help us develop and test hypotheses.
Role Analysis with leaders and other key stakeholders who are crucial in your value chain: Role Analysis explores the experience of being a person in your "system", and the connectedness, clarity and tensions between purpose, person, system and context (market environment).
Purpose Clarification: refining the core purpose of the organisation in the context of 21st century context of business dynamics (see below), exploring the organisations' role in corporate social and environmental responsibility and reframing the core purpose of the organisation, with short and long term objectives, in this context.
Collaboration Dynamics: exploration of HOW you collaborate inside and outside the organisation, linked to your purpose.
Solution Consulting, Design & Rollout
Having explored the organisation's current state, we then consult with you to provide options for moving forward. This can involve pilot initiatives in one or more of the following fields:
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Brand authenticity - examining how your people reflect your brand
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Leadership relationships - seeing leadership team as the "shadow" of the organisation, working with leaders to become leaders in the truest sense
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Talent expansion - nurturing the learning organisation through structured learning and mentoring procedures, which fuel the succession pipeline
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Innovation and business context - thinking about the wider social and environmental context of your business and its impact on how you serve clients and the world
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Corporate social responsibility - creating integrity and trust in stakeholder relationships in your value chain
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Team performance - creating a climate of trust and accountability
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Communications dynamics - how to communicate and the channels to choose for interactive collaboration with your stakeholders, bringing together all those across the organisation who are information points.
Measurement Return on Investment
Every Xenergie project is measured against original goals and business value. Xenergie works with external evaluators to determine the impact of our assignments and to continuously review performance in the long term.
For an exploratory discussion, please contact lorna.mcdowell@Xenergie.com
Link to full article from Business Week http://www.businessweek.com/managing/content/oct2008/ca2008107_857241.htm
