Managing a major change
Organizations achieve dominance by introducing unique ways of doing business that the market perceives as adding value. A timely innovation often changes the rules of the game. But success can be a precursor to failure. Many innovators find themselves wedded to ideology that blinds them to changing market conditions or competitors making inroads.
By LSI publisher Art McNeil
When an innovation is sufficiently powerful, congruent patterns of behavior form around the breakthrough and the creator evolves a supportive *culture. As a pioneering organization adapts to capitalize on its advantage, cultural alignment promotes focus and clarity of purpose. Success is realized because alignment around the initial advantage fosters operating efficiency. Compatible ideas, products, and decisions are embraced, while nonconforming challenges are rejected.
Unfortunately a caveat is attached to pioneering success. Military history is riddled with evidence that the majority of victors do not live happily ever after. That’s because winning generals are prone to reuse technology, strategies, and tactics that helped them win previous battles. Sticking with yesterday’s advantage when the situation has changed is a recipe for disaster. Germany conquered Europe with a new strategy called blitzkrieg (lightning war—a sudden swift military attack). Fixed embattlements such as the Maginot line, once thought to be impenetrable, did nothing to impede the rapidly moving invader.
When a culture becomes centered on a specific advantage, there is great risk that ideology will take over—and ideology is anathema to change. During WWII, while Poland was in the process of being invaded, a defending cavalry officer wrote in his field dispatch, “the idea of huge armored vehicles rolling down roads at a fast pace is a dream.” the very last cavalry charge in history was against German tanks as they invaded Poland. As the Blitzkrieg surged through the open countryside, the Polish cavalry saw that they and their horses were the only thing standing between the German Army and their freedom, so they attacked. All of themwere cut down.
Many industrial-age methods of managing are obsolete, and longstanding assumptions must be challenged. Many non adapting pioneers find themselves making a life-ending cavalry charge against competitors who are better adapted to today’s fast moving world.
*Culture “a collective set of habits used by a specific group of people to get things done.”
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