How Are Things?
Being a well-oiled machine may be good for productivity, but it’s bad for innovation
How’s it going at your organization?
All good? That’s great!
Or is it.
In terms of innovation, when things are going well… that’s not a good thing.
That’s because when things are going well is when complacency sets in. Complacency means repeatedly relying on the way things have always been done. Which generally means no new ideas. Which means putting your organization in grave danger of being left in the dust by competitors.
Hey, I get it. It’s easy to get caught up in things that need to get done. What’s in front of your face is, understandably, the most important thing to deal with. Want to be a more effective manager?
Practice when it’s safe
But when things are going well is exactly the time you need to intentionally get uncomfortable and peer into the future. To anticipate the changes that may affect your business, and run drills to prepare for more unexpected events, just as you run fire drills when there’s no fire: you practice when it’s safe, so that everyone knows what to do if the real thing occurs. If you haven’t already, you would be wise to budget time and money for coming up with strategies that will provide resilience when needing to cope with change.
“But wait,” I hear you ask. “We don’t have a crystal ball. How are we supposed to know what’s going to happen next, especially with the additional uncertainty we’ve been handling in the past couple of years?”
How to predict the future
No, you cannot accurately predict the future. But you can anticipate trends. Even if your organization doesn’t have this capability, there are two ways you can do this:
1) Engage an organization that specializes in spotting trends.
2) Bring together the talent in your organization to brainstorm what those key trends may be. Then go in search of the quantitative and qualitative data that either supports or blows those theories out of the water. You’ll learn a great deal about your customers and donors in the process.
If not now, when?
The start of a new year is the perfect time to refresh thinking, to review strategies for those that need to be updated or tossed out, and to look at staff with fresh eyes for skills and potential you hadn’t previously recognized.
The future is waiting to be created. Make the future yours.
If you’re looking for ways to lead your team more effectively, let’s explore how coaching in creative problem-solving could help you address your challenges. Schedule a free mini consult at https://calendly.com/ellia-harris/20min
“We appreciated the solution-driven discussions, your calm, purposeful style of teaching and facilitation, and that we were able to walk away with not only a solution to our institutional challenge but also practical techniques that we can implement immediately with faculty and staff. ”