Making the Choice

For many years, managers would adopt the style of their leader and assume that the leader's knowledge and instincts about the market would be sufficient.  Decisions were often reached intuitively, and results often derived more from what was not done than from what was done deliberately and strategically.  For example, an acquisition may not have been attempted because the kind of management needed to run the new enterprise did not yet exist within the organization.  By not pursuing that acquisition, a decision was made to maintain the status quo of the organization's culture, business lines, and markets.

Today all managers need to be able to converse in a way that will allow them to collectively build or modify the culture.
 
The larger the discrepancy between your organization and its market, the more significant a change is warranted.  A score of 1-2 on your Organization/Market profile indicates a need for improving processes, strengthening the existing alignment within the organization, and fine-tuning the whole operation.  These efforts should be ongoing, so that your organization is constantly maintaining its balance and synchronicity, and constantly renewing itself.  If done well and consistently, these activities will also alert you when a significant change in the market is approaching (or has already begun).
 
If your score is 3-5, a choice needs to be made.  There will need to be a significant change in either the organization, the market(s) it competes in, or both.  This change should run throughout the entire system, and it will need to involve everyone in the organization.  Management needs to set a new direction, and the system needs to be redesigned so that it moves steadily in that direction.  However, you needn't panic; your score of 3-5 suggests that you have some time to make this change.  While a genuine transformation is necessary, your organization is not facing an emergency.

If your score is 6-9, however, your organization is very likely out of touch with its market and is not able to serve it adequately.  Unless big changes are made right away, the whole ship will sink, and quickly.  A full-fledged turnaround is required.  This usually means:

• low-performing and overly-costly operations need to be excised immediately
• a new system needs to be designed
• changes will need to cascade from the top down

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Keys to Market MasteryThe 21st Century Shift in Markets Over the last twenty years, globalization and technological changes have greatly accelerated the rate at which products and services typically move from one market environment to another.  Organizations that used to operate in the same environment for decades now must face significant change - and very difficult choices - after only a few years, and sometimes after only a few months. Read More The Force Behind the Change If your score is 3 or more, an archetype change - that is, a change in either your organization's archetype or the market environment(s) in which it operates - is clearly indicated.  The most common situation creating such a need for change is the movement of a product or service from one market environment to another. Read More Making the Choice For many years, managers would adopt the style of their leader and assume that the leader's knowledge and instincts about the market would be sufficient.  Decisions were often reached intuitively, and results often derived more from what was not done than from what was done deliberately and strategically. Read More