Risk lies not in the journey, but the reluctance to take it
When my father passed away in March of 1985, a family friend made a comment to my mother, which I will never forget. While trying to console her, this very good and honorable friend told her how fortunate she was to be employed. He went on to reassure her that a secure job was every bit as important as having a life insurance policy. You see, at that time, the U.S. was beginning to show recovery from a double dip recession (consumer and business) where unemployment had climbed above 10%.
As you may recall, the U.S. went on to realize one of the strongest economies and global recoveries ever – yes, just a few years following a shattering financial crisis which crippled this country. The world of work changed dramatically not coincidentally during that period. The knowledge worker was born. It became less about what a person could do and more about what they knew, felt, and thought. Selecting the right people became a differentiating imperative, one, which could build value overnight.
The, fear based approach to employment of the early ’70s and ’80s was gone. People now had choices. They left the organizations, not always physically, that had destroyed their trust and security of the job that “was as important as a life insurance policy.” Once thriving organizations toppled because they couldn’t retain the talent necessary to compete in the new global economy.
Is history repeating itself? You can bet on it. So the question now becomes, “how can our organization emerge from this double dip set back in the most healthy and prosperous way?”
Like the advice given my mother, this is not a time to rely on what has worked in the past. Conventional wisdom suggests we do employee engagement surveys to understand the health of our human potential, address our management development and leadership talents, and set our plan in motion to improve. While these steps are critical and absolutely necessary, our research suggests that these alone won’t give us the control we need to create the change we want.
As leaders we must ground “all things culture” in the business of our business! If you aren’t doing this, as a leader your impact is relegated to simply “reviewing” your changing culture – not determining it.
So get committed.
Direct the evolution of your culture from the macro through the local. Culture will eat strategy, tactics and even the best laid plans for lunch, unless it is continuously connected to mission, vision, and purpose. What elements of your culture must change and what must prevail? What aspects of your service culture resonate with your customers and which irritate or alienate them?
This is not a time for seeking consensus, but a time for taking your organization to the next level, the true and proper role for leadership. The risk lies not in the journey, but in the reluctance to take it.
By Curt Coffman, MBA
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