Accepting Known Mediocrity
versus
Seeking Unknown Potential

Have you ever sat and watched children learn or at play? Their senses are in a continuous acquisition mode. They are open to all new aspects and elements because there have no preconceived notions.

All throughout our academic years from preschool through advanced education, we are taught to explore and ask questions to gain understanding and develop insights. Presumably we are being groomed to become contributors to our society and to add new levels of value with each new generation.

Then as we begin to become professionals and take up our role in society, this magical experience seems to slowly stop for most people. Instead of pushing the envelope to learn and innovate, we get harnessed into the team which has already determined the pace at which we will move. We learn very quickly how to apply various filters to shield ourselves from seeking the unknown potential.

This shift of behavior is characterized by "accepting known mediocrity versus seeking the unknown potential". For most it begins with experiencing a few of their good ideas getting squashed. Then it is reinforced with a large dose of "I told you so".

So how and why does this shift occur? It could be this little thing called a paycheck. Once we all become a contributing member of society, the paycheck becomes the be all and end all. It sounds harsh, but let's look deeper.

We all meet people everyday working in companies that knowingly ignore the signs of breakage. Typically the situation gets sidelined with a statement like "we have always done it that way", "why waste the energy to change it, no one cares" or "its not on my goal set". This level of apathy is widespread and visible everywhere. It certainly received a healthy injection of 'stay low and fit in' when the dot.com went boom. Raising your hand too high could get you visibility and possibly an opportunity on the Pink Slip Team.

So why should you care now more than ever? Because highly successful companies are made of people who care to make a difference. When you stop caring to make a difference and simply exist for the paycheck, your personal growth, health, and self-esteem will suffer.

How do you breakout of this funk? Take personal ownership and seek the unknown potential versus continuing to accept the daily mediocrity. It will take courage and leadership, especially when many companies have become very good about accepting mediocre performance. There is no question that your paycheck is important. Yet it only takes a few people to start a cultural shift. So what about you? Are you a highway or a speed bump on the road to success? The professionals at ASIL can help you harness your potential.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!

Contributed by: Pete Pazmany

Organizational Structures

Keys to Building Effective Organizations

Organizations and their abilities are largely determined by the structure by which they are organized. Structure to a high degree influences behavior because it creates the environment in which the company operates. How a company is arranged greatly affects the way it can deal with a variety of issues that appear every day in the workplace. Four structures are very prevalent within all types of organizations today; Bureaucratic, Functional, Divisional, and Matrix structures.

Bureaucratic structures are dictated by the standardization by which they are arranged. Consider most government entities, they rule with by standards that are supposed ensure fairness and equality for everyone. In order to do this the structure must be rigid and have a number of checks and balances within the system to account for all activity. For big organizations, this hierarchy does help to impart similar standards and practices everyone can adhere to and ambiguity is diminished, this comes at the cost of speed and flexibility for the organization as a whole.

Functional structures within organizations are meant to group people together by skills and tasks. At first glance this model seems to be very useful because grouping similar types of people together to do likewise jobs makes sense but in reality this doesn’t create the variation needed for innovation and exploring new realms of possibility. This structure works well in producing a good or service and continuing to replicate that process, thus refining it over time.

Divisional structures put focus more thoroughly on the products instead of the skills making the products. Arranging the organization around the product is a good way to capitalize on what is being developed by the company but it places a heavy focus on just the product. On the one end this is useful because all processes around the product can be managed to a high degree, but it makes it difficult for the company to move away from that product within shifting the operating structure.

Matrix structures include both aspects from the functional and divisional structures. In this sense, it can use the skill sets of employees and manage the products created through balancing the two within the organization. For smaller companies like start up ventures, this model provides a high amount of flexibility and quickness for response to environmental issues. The down side is that is requires a very delicate balance of skill and products that must be managed through the employees and if this balance is disturbed it creates havoc until it is resolved.

Each structure can be highly effective if it is in the right environment, and conversely, in the wrong environment an irrelevant structure can make more burdens than successes. Working with a company structure takes time and careful planning in order to not disrupt the organization’s strategies, goals, or objectives. If you or your company is looking for insights about structure, contact ASIL to discuss a consultation.

Contributed by Joe Pazmany

Click on the links below to view ASIL, Inc.'s MAX Partnering® self-paced software demonstrations:

Strategies and Execution - This demo depicts the tools that organizations can utilize to embrace change effectively and implement it successfully.

Partner Selection and Management - This brief demo displays the tools available to define, select, and implement outsourcing and partner selection.

Scorecards and Corrective Action - This vignette provides visibility to measure and manage the performance of your organization, partners and company.

Self Assessment Sample Questionnaire - This demo will enable you to respond to a small sample of self assessment questions focused on change management and create a Heat Map of your responses to see areas that may need attention. The Driving Complex Change® methodology addresses the six areas of Direction, Ability, Incentive, Resources, Structure, and Action that can impact your effectiveness of change management.

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Editor: Michael B. Singleton (msingleton@asil-inc.com)