The Realising Success 7 enabling elements
In our world, alignment is everything.
Organisations that leverage and align their seven foundational elements can unlock a number of key benefits and capabilities and use them to drive better operational improvements and minimise risk.
These seven foundational elements – Strategy, Structures, People, Process, Technology, Information and Governance have a synergistic effect, creating an environment where the business and its people can thrive.
We are increasingly seeing occurrences of “billion dollar mistakes” within organisations who fail to align and calibrate. We see it when people engage with processes that are undocumented. We see it when organisations don’t fully understand the impact of the technologies they deploy and when the vendors that sold the technology do not fully understand what they have sold.
Why is getting alignment right so important? Because, it’s not about what you do, but how you do it.
Structures
Structures come in many forms including, legal, organisational, functional and operational. Without clear consideration of all of these and their complex interaction the best laid plans can be thwarted in delivering the strategy. A well documented organisational structure captures the interactions and dependencies along with the associated roles within them. Our experienced and outcomes focused consulting team can help create and deliver structures that meet business demands to empower and deliver.
Some interesting things to know about Organisational Structures and the role they play.
They have many forms.
They support the business model.
They define and support legal, regulatory and compliance requirements.
They strongly influence resource allocation.
They are the foundation on which enterprise architectures are built.
They are the frame of the organisation.
People
People and their role are typically the most complex aspect of any business from the Board Room to the Front Line. Without clear definition, direction, and communication and the responsbibilities of each role being defined, individuals fulfilling roles are likely to adopt a liberal interpretation as to how they will deliver and behave. Our team helps you to build organisational capability. By aligning effective structures with clearly assigned process responsibility and accountability you can achieve significant improvement in outcomes and organisational performance.
Some interesting things to understand about people.
Every person is unique and sees the world through different lenses.
Understanding people goes beyond surface level knowledge of roles and responsibilities.
The action of one person can destroy what it took others years to build.
Understanding people networks and the super-connectors can be a secret sauce.
People need shorter feedback loops and time for critical thinking.
Value is driven by everyone understanding the part they play.
Leadership matters.
Business Processes
We use business process models (BPM) to create a documented and agreed view as to activities that take place, the sequencing and resourcing. Inputs and outputs are clearly identified to create unambiguous views. The process model provides the recipe for the way of being and doing within your organisation. Through process intelligence we can capture over 100 key business insights to make better decisions on optimising and transforming your business.
Some interesting things to know about business processes and why we should understand them.
They are the links that connect the various business functions.
There is often no one standard way to do things.
They form part of the organisation’s capability set.
They can dictate the activity and timing within a business.
They are the vehicle for strategy execution.
They provide guidance for standards and compliance.
They can make or break your customer experience.
They influence organisational behaviour and culture.
Data & Information
In today’s world data is considered the lifeblood of an organisation, fueling decision-making, strategy and operational capability. The visibility of data and information is paramount for effective management and growth.
Some interesting things to understand about data and information.
It can provide great insights but to be effective you need to act on them.
It has its own lifecycle (Create Store Use Archive Destroy)
It is increasingly becoming a strategic asset.
Trust is an essential aspect of data and information management.
Explore your data “to find out more”, “apply an internal perspective” and “apply an external perspective”.
Technology
Technology is a key enabler in any business, but investments can be wasted if technology is not deployed in a way where it can be easily applied and used. When looking to deploy new technologies we can help you define your business technology architecture.
Some interesting things to know about technology.
It emerges and evolves.
In today’s business landscape it is an enabler of automation.
It forms part of the business and enterprise architecture.
When done well it can be a great enabler, when not done well it can be a disabler.
Individuals and business need to constantly adapt to technology changes.
Its important to know what you have, where it is, and what it does.
Governance
Governance is about accountability and trust. Our team helps you design and implement an effective governance and accountability framework as governance is not a one size fits all. A sound, tailored and practical governance framework provides leadership and management controls that encompass activities such as risk management, ethics, culture, behaviour and compliance. Our team can help you build the right governance and accountability frame for your organisation.
Some interesting things to understand about governance.
Governance activities need to adapt and evolve as the risk landscape becomes more complex and fast moving.
Its everyone’s responsibility.
The aim is not to implement solutions but to prevent problems.
The soft stuff is the hard stuff.
Embedded in every organisation is a system, understand it.
Strategy
An effective strategy clearly articulates the organisations goals and objectives. We help you align your strategy. A well aligned and communicated strategy forms the frame for activity, timing and results.
Some interesting things to know about strategy and strategic performance.
You need to start fast because in 6 months’ time the objective could be irrelevant.
Shortened feedback loops means you can react and respond faster.
The organisations 7 foundational elements can be used as a schema and as connectors.
Many numerous small things can come together to enhance and bolster strategic performance.
Explore your data “to find out more”, “apply an internal perspective” and “apply an external perspective”.
Directed strategy achieves goals.
