Some of the most prominent challenges companies have post-pandemic are bringing back profitability, how to attract top talent and retain them, and keeping a streamlined operating plan resilient in these continuing uncertain times.
The predictable future for most companies is a continuation of their current way of operating. Their reaction-based culture. Their status quo. Leaders don’t recognize that they’re perpetuating a continuous cycle of distraction from peak performance by keeping ineffective operations alive daily. When an external force like a pandemic or an economic downturn occurs, the reaction mode heats up further with restructuring, adjusting the strategy, and hiring/firing. Then, they plan their very future within the confines of their current status quo! The cycle continues for another eight, twelve, or sixteen months until it is repeated, expecting a different result.
Companies don’t evolve beyond this predictable future because they don’t design their future powerfully from a 30,000-foot view and take deliberate actions to get there. When we ask some leaders why they don’t take this on, they sometimes say, “Now is not good for us. We have a busy Q4, then a busy Q1.” In Q1, they’ll be preparing for a busy Q2. They’re busy preparing and executing the continuation of their ineffective cycle. Sometimes, leaders will hire a new COO to disrupt the status quo. Then, the leaders who hired the new COO acculturate them into their status quo!
The companies emerging today as leaders of their industry have recognized their old patterns are no longer effective in our new era. The old, repeated cycle of restructuring, adjusting the strategy, and layoffs, is an antiquated game that the new employee landscape is rejecting. Employees want to be part of a resilient company that has built its business to weather any storm instead of rebuilding every time there is a storm.
”Employees want to be part of a resilient company that has built its business to weather any storm instead of rebuilding every time there is a storm.
How can leaders design their company’s future powerfully? An intentional intervention of the status quo is required. However, everyone in the company must be enrolled in the intervention to succeed. Not just the executive team.
Many challenges companies face today are symptoms of more significant issues, which require a deep resolve to create change. Leaders are often surprised to learn that they’re not as connected to what’s happening in their company as they think they are. There are numerous blind spots to uncover and resolve to break the patterns and take a company to the next level. The most profound revelation is when leaders realize their employees have the ingenuity to navigate the company from their status quo.
Creating a watershed moment to interrupt a company’s predictable future is possible. Once achieved, the company has a high-performing culture with a unified community of leaders, employees, partners, and customers connected in their shared commitment to what’s next for the organization.
