Tom Peters has a great post on his blog, "The Right Plan Is to Have No Plan" which discusses two belief systems adopted by leaders seeking to initiate change, that of planners who seek to impose top down solutions, who Tom says “more or less believe that the plan is the thing—and that the messy process of implementation on the ground will take care of itself if The Plan is ‘right.’” and searchers who adapt to the adapt to the local context and culture and implement change from the bottom up. Tom quotes William Easterly the author of, “The White Man’s Burden: Why the West’s Efforts to Aid the Rest Have Done So Much Ill and So Little Good”, discussing the differences between planners and searchers…
"In foreign aid, Planners announce good intentions but don’t motivate anyone to carry them out; Searchers find things that work and get some reward. Planners raise expectations but take no responsibility for meeting them; Searchers accept responsibility for their actions. Planners determine what to supply; Searchers find out what is in demand. Planners apply global blueprints; Searchers adapt to local conditions. Planners at the top lack knowledge of the bottom; Searchers find out what the reality is at the bottom. … A Planner thinks he already knows the answers; he thinks of poverty as a technical engineering problem that his answers will solve. A Searcher admits he doesn’t know the answers in advance; he believes that poverty is a complicated tangle of political, social, historical, institutional and technological factors; a Searcher hopes to find answers to individual problems only by trial and error experimentation. A Planner believes outsiders know enough to impose solutions; a Searcher believes only insiders have enough knowledge to find solutions, and that most solutions must be homegrown."
This is central to a philosophy of small wins… An approach to change the advocates looking for making small wins that have the potential to bring about huge changes. Llooking for what’s working on the ground and then building of those proven successes…
"Somewhere in your organization, groups of people are already doing things differently and better. To create lasting change, find these areas of positive deviance and fan the flames." — Richard Pascale & Jerry Sternin, "Your Company’s Secret Change Agents," Harvard Business Review
"We made mistakes, of course. Most of them were omissions we didn’t think of when we initially wrote the software. We fixed them by doing it over and over, again and again. We do the same today. While our competitors are still sucking their thumbs trying to make the design perfect, we’re already on prototype version #5. By the time our rivals are ready with wires and screws, we are on version #10. It gets back to planning versus acting: We act from day one; others plan how to plan—for months." — Bloomberg by Bloomberg, Mike Bloomberg’s business saga
Successful leadership requires a solid underpinning philosophy, a purpose and a bias towards getting things done.. that is a focus on execution. A drive towards creating small wins, informed by what’s already working, creates change. Small change, builds.. creating momentum and momentum brings about significant change…
Technorati Tags: Small Wins, Momentum, Execution, Action, Change, Planning, Strategy, Management, Business, Plan
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Yes- think it falls back on that Leadership Trait: DECISIVENESS. Gen George S Patton once said (I paraphrase): “The willingness to make a decision is the most important leadership quality.” He also said that “a good plan offered now is better tha a perfect plan offered in two weeks.” Supports the points made in your post.
Just like in Bloomburg’s story, it’s about getting off the couch and building a history and some data points.
Not that the USMC does everything correctly, and not that all Marines are great leaders, but that is the one thing that the Corps assumes it does well: DEVELOP LEADERS. It is their priority. Fundamental to the Corps’ leadership success is a whimsical-sounding acronym that is anything but whimsical: JJ DID TIE BUCKLE. This acronym stands for the boyscout-like values against which ALL MARINES are evaluated. It provides the foundation for development, promotion, advancement…or not. DECISIVENESS is one of the traits making up JJ DID TIE BUCKLE. If it is important enough for men and women going into harm’s way to embrace as a key element to better and develop their product (a combat ready and capable fighting force), it probably makes sense in industry, if one believes that success in business is akin to winning in competitive situations.
That’s my story and I am sticking to it.
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