What every 21st Century Organization needs to thrive...

I remember our session, as if it happened yesterday...

In actuality this encounter occurred more than 30 years ago...

The reason that it is so embedded in my memory was that some of the insights and suggestions that he shared with me...I put into play immediately...

Much of what he shared with me sounded like a prophecy...I shrugged it off as his regular ranting...but I squirreled the potential insights away in a corner of my memory and periodically referenced them to see if they gained any substance and credibility.

During our regular mentoring sessions he selectively shared one of his life axioms....

This time it was...

"...if you find yourself in a position that you have to make decision...you do not have enough information..."

We talked at length about the real attributes related to decision making...and the fact that most executives have deceived themselves into believing that good decisions are made based on data!

I could belabor the discussion...but I will "cliff note" it...

When a manager or an executive makes a decision....it is not made based upon the information at hand...

The only exception to this would be...If an executive were omniscient...and had all of the data he/she needed...then there wouldn't be any choices...everything would be "no-brainers!"

Perfect information leads to a situation where there are no choices...

Anything less than perfection...creates a need for choice...

Choice is not a function of data but arises from a lack of information...(this is interesting!)

Executives do not make decisions based upon what they know...but based upon how much risk is associated with what they potentially do not know...

As a result most executives will choose the lower risk alternative...

The "risk averse" strategy!

This will lead organizations to mediocrity...and they will euphenize this fatal flaw as "risk aversion..."

In the 1980s and 1990s his "predictions" began to take on substance...I started hearing the phrase..."we are a risk averse company..."

In most cases, it was a nice way of saying...our executives are incapable of making decisions...

I was shocked that he told me this 20 years earlier!

I started to believe that what he told me was more than simple philosophizing...

Another of his predictions that has just now come to fruition was that the real 21st century would not happened for a decade or so into it!

He explained that it takes a decade or so for people to finally cast off the previous decade and accept the new for what it is and has to offer...

I think he was right!  We are finally seeing a whole new world around us!

The economy is different...

Our environment is different...

Our challenges are different...

And so to should be our survival tactics!

I can not emphasize this point enough!

Organizations must change their focus in order to go from simply surviving to thriving in the marketplace and economy!

The 20th century was all about Opportunity and Effort!

Although this still holds true today...

Another element has been added to the equation...

That being "Risk."

I can not specifically define "risk."  It varies from situation to situation and organization to organization...

But it will be the differentiator in surviving and thriving...

The question that needs to be asked...

"What are our risks?"

How do we minimize the probability of those situations coming to fruition and if the do...how do we ensure that the impact is mute?

It struck me that "The New Brass Ring" and the DMADD methodology is firmly "founded" on "risk" identification and mitigation! (the book is available in the upper right hand of this page)

If "risk" is sufficiently addressed (through definition and control)...then the intended results have a better chance of happening!

The 21st Century Organization can no longer afford to treat "risk" as an adjunct element.

"Risk" must be on equal terms with ROI...in fact many instances will require that it is given priority...

That was one of his predictions so many years ago!

Let it suffice that the "do nothing" alternative is a choice that organizations make without fully comprehending the ramifications of choosing it...

If that choice was fully assessed...up front...many more organizations would be positioned for success...and would be less reactive and more proactive...