Strategic Speed: Post #5--Clarity

Clarity: Is about having a unified vision of where, when, and how fast you want to go to get to where you’re going. It’s about leaders being aligned and committed, people taking time to understand the problem before trying to solve it, teams experimenting and learning, and employees getting the right training for new required skills.

Strategic Speed: Post #4--People Factors

People Factors: In their global study on strategic speed, the authors found that Clarity, Unity, and Agility were the key factors that determined high from low strategic speed companies. In fact in 10 of 12 key characteristics, faster moving companies were significantly different from slow-speed companies (see p. 19).

Strategic Speed: Post #3--The Strategic Trap

Strategic Trap: Overattention to pace. Often leaders try to speed up strategy by looking at it as a mechanical issue. So, they try to manipulate processes, systems and technology. Leaders think that by telling people to just “speed up” and do everything faster, or skip over important steps, that strategic speed is magically reached. Wrong. One example they use around process is one I’ve experienced over my many years on college campuses. The contractors build buildings. Then they lay concrete walkways. But after 6 months you begin to see people making their own shorter paths in the grass. People trump process and artificial speed anytime. Better to construct a new building and wait 6 months for a guide about where to build sidewalks!