3 things you need to do to keep up being the benchmark

3 things you need to do to keep up being the benchmark

Feb 24, 2017 11:12:15 AM

Filipe Janela

Posted By Filipe Janela

Some may be happy by reaching a certain level or completing an objective. Sadly, that’s the easiest part of the journey. The problem is not getting to the top, is staying there.

 


Everybody wants to be the benchmark, the reference and to be recognized by a specific achievement. However important completing a goal may be, that’s not enough in the long run to assure that an organization is sustainable.

 

In fact, sustainability comes from the fact that you accept that there is no end to the game and that the set of conditions that create the landscape you operate in are constantly changing.

 

So, if you’re charged with delivering a benchmark operation, you may be in a position where you find yourself struggling not to reach a benchmark level, but to maintain it. And that’s actually the challenge that you need to prepare for.

 

 

What are then the things you need to do to keep up being the benchmark that was so hard to achieve?

 

  • Welcome criticism and perform reality checks. On brilliant post by Tim Hartford on the Financial Times, we have plenty of evidence that most people avoid those that offer criticism and reality checks. Without that ability to welcome bad news and transform them into valuable information that anticipates problems, you’re probably delaying action that is sure to prevent a disruption.

 

  • Be flexible and foster change. Assuming that what you’re doing now is enough to endure the tough test of reality is clearly wishful thinking. You need to make the concept of change a natural behavior in your organization. You need to want to change and constantly ask “what can I change to make this better?” instead of assuming that you’re doing enough. To change, you need to be flexible and everything around you must also allow for a tremendous degree of adaptability. And yes, I’m talking about humans and technology alike. You need to stop saying that you just don’t change because your IT is too slow or your guys don’t react well under new conditions. You need to overcome those limitations by engaging all stakeholders on a change-oriented mindset to deliver actual sustainability.

 

  • Use sense making and thrive on quick failures. Most people tend to confine themselves on their comfort zone, preventing reality from kicking in and neglecting what relating to others and to different environments can bring. You need to get out there, ask questions, observe similar and disparate environments, search new experiences and emerging best practices so you can make sense of it all and reuse what makes sense to you. And to apply new things, you cannot be afraid to fail, you just need to focus on doing the right thing and failing fast. Use prototyping, controlled pilots, incremental building to reduce the risk but do it and don’t be afraid to fail. Just make sure you make sense of the outcome.

 

 

All this translates into attitudes that are not easy or normal in human beings. That’s precisely why you see so many long-standing organizations going burst when more flexible, agile and failure prone competitors enter the market with new ways of dealing with reality. It’s not easy but that’s what you need to do. And doing it will give you the sustainability that enables staying at the top.

 

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