“Many Organizations are Deaf, Dumb, and Blind.”  Although a bold statement, the validity of the above statement can be traced to the natural behavior of man from the beginning of time. An in-depth study could emphatically support this claim; however, a quick look at many organizations would reveal this truth.   If one understands that an organization is made up of individuals who apply organizational directives in order to produce goods or services of value, then it is more easily understood how this premise can be verified.  For the common denominator to all organizations, no matter how large or small, how simple or complex is PEOPLE – and people will be people.  In many instances it seems regardless of the experience level or the excellence of the worker, or the degree of training – “stuff happens.” The end result after much cause and effect analysis always seems to be the same:  more fire-fighting, more controls, and more process changes, more management……

The Proof

So if we took a step back, what would we find?  Would it be the organization that you originally envisioned?  Is it the one you planned – or did it just happen?  Do you feel in your organization the tail is wagging the dog?  Could your organization be one that has one or more of the Deaf, Dumb, and Blind symptoms listed below? Do you:

• Believe that you know more than your clients
• Believe that your solution is the only right solution
• Limit information to key decision makers
• Have a self-supporting management structure sometimes characterized by “good old boy” politics
• Promote  management based on who they know
• Have organizational boundaries that trap information, limit insight, and lower growth potential
• Facilitates change within the organization based on the interpretation of information driven from the top down instead of the bottom up
• Limit the resolution of  complex problems  by the context from which they were created
• Rarely think outside the box, using yesterday’s solution for today’s problems
• Think, (at least some days)  that you’ve lost the ability to impact your own organization

The Full Story

Now, from your perspective, the above list may not apply to your organization but let me give  you a brief story that better illustrates my point.

In 1989 at the age of 40 I had a heart attack.  It was by most anyone’s standards a life changing event.  Now, when someone asks “how did that happen” I state the truth, I was just STUPID.  (Short for Deaf, Dumb, and Blind).  I surly didn’t plan for that to happen, in my mind I was a rising star in Corporate America, doing what most no one else could do.  I believed and was supported by most all of my coworkers and the managers I worked for that I was doing the right things, the right way with the right priorities – but in fact you can be best assured, I was almost dead wrong.

Over the last five years I’ve helped many organizations move to the next level in fulfilling their quest for excellence.  What I’ve observed is that in most of the cases the barriers to their success, were not barriers at all, but rather blind spots.  Like at the time prior to my heart attack, no one could have convinced me that the path I had chosen would lead to an abrupt dead end.  However the signs were all there, my body was begging me to take a new course and my lovely wife was doing her duty and voicing her concerns but my focus was on doing the impossible(For all the right reasons)!

Now, I know what you’re thinking! – This guy is truly deaf, dumb, and blind, AKA Stupid.  NO WAY would I want his services here at our organization.  That may be, but I have to ask you about your heart attack.  I know it’s there…. I’ve seen it in company after company.  It’s your organizational blind spot!   It’s about to happen; only you can’t see it coming!

So what type of systems do you have in place that will protect you from your organizational blind spot?

The Cure

Many organizations have a large number of processes and procedures to keep them on track. They adhere to an industry standard quality program.   They have vision and mission statements that include all the right words (i.e. We Listen to Our Customers, Quality is Our Number One Job….).  In many organizations they retain experienced individuals that make sound decisions.  The corporate strategy and planning processes are as timely as a Swiss Time Piece.  So why is the daily execution of that perfect Strategic Plan so filled with pitfalls?

Whereas the answers can be many, one that I constantly see across many organizations is lack of organizational clarity, inadequate accountability, or poor alignment across departments of an organization.  In other words the basis from which decisions are made, the corporate view of itself, is flawed.  There can be many reason for this, but let’s look at what it would take change an organization’s view of itself  by creating a WINNING SYSTEM.  A winning system is:

• One that presents information in a meaningful and uniform manner to its audience
• One where the information presented is more than interesting but  answer the right questions
• One where the information is open to all and thus allows the organization to see cause and effect across organizational boundaries
• One where the source of the Information is correct, up-to-date, and understood

In my future posts we will examine some of the problems and cures caused by not having a “winning system”  but you can rest assure that much like your human body, your organization’s ills will require more than just another “Quick Fix”.

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This B2B Blog is sponsored by RightFoot Technology, Inc.

RightFoot Technology has over 5 years experience in helping small and medium size organizations improve their execution excellence.  Our unique web-based dashboard application allows organizations to accelerate the delivery of their strategic objectives by implementing a goal-centric vision of success.  Click here for more information on how to receive your FREE  Vision-2-Value Checkup.