The first Apollo space crew had a poster made stating, ‘We believe anything is possible’. Within the realms of science we would agree. As far as organisational change and effectiveness goes, we would subscribe to this philosophy. In many ways organisations are restricted in the main by the limitations of leadership and the relationship the leaders develop with their followers. Truly - anything is possible.
Clarity of purpose or mission sits at the heart of the organisation. A global pharmaceutical company states that its purpose is ‘to improve the health of people’, while Bill Gales wanted ‘a computer in every home’. The various competitive strategies will plot the product and service plans to chart the course and cut a new and partially untrodden path to the future. This is only the start. Without a healthy purposeful culture and supportive behaviours performance will be disappointing or minimal. The behaviours are the tangible things we see every day; the moments of truth we have with our customers. Upon these moments rests the ‘experience’ felt by customers, internal and external, and ultimately the long term financial prosperity of the business. Leaders, through their own behaviour, have to inspire, support, recognise and reward the behaviour we need to align the execution side of the business with the strategic model.