Article

In today’s competitive marketplace, organizational flexibility can no longer be considered an option – it’s an absolute necessity. New demands, new technologies, new priorities, new regulations, new customer requirements, and global change emerges at unprecedented speed and your company has got to be equipped to swiftly adapt – not just once, or a few times, but continually.

Changing both what you do and how you do it, by nature, requires transformative agility and adaptive skill. New marketplace imperatives call for continual adjustment and new organizational management behaviors. This kind of organizational change is often the most challenging, painful and costly. Unfortunately, most companies’ operational strategies and structures reflect their cultural history – past business realities making the entrenched culture and engrained habits of the organization one of the most formidable obstacles to overcome. However, past success is no longer an indication of future fruitfulness!

Agile companies have developed the key to gain greater success in that they are proactive, continually seeking new opportunities, open, and view reactive business thinking as missing the mark. Often this proactive attitude is rewarded by higher margins, early entry marketshare, increased revenues, and first to respond offerings that develop reputations as market leaders and innovators. These companies remake and position themselves to respond rapidly as new opportunities for competitive advantage emerge:

    * Teams are structured for organizational flexibility so that skills can be quickly added as conditions and opportunities present themselves, and employees are empowered to work collaboratively across functions, business silos, departments, and networks of partners.

    * Organizational management systems are “agile” and “flexible” – operational structure can be recreated or realigned without hesitation in response to market conditions, competition, and demand.

    * Enabling business technologies are applied carefully and are driven by end users, not technologists – often the required technologies and the innovative “brain trust” of the companies that develop them are under contract to aid flexibility.

    * Processes are continually reexamined and streamlined end to end, and form the basis for ongoing adaptation of workplace and management practices.

The speed at which market and business change is taking place will continue to accelerate – it’s only prudent to acknowledge that this level of organizational dexterity, ingenuity, flexibility, and responsiveness are necessary to fuel innovation, growth and success. Corporate heads and leaders are required to acknowledge and accept constant change and that the need for agility is essential for success today and in the future.

By Linda Hyden: Life / Grief Coach & Management Consultant