Listening to the CNN coverage last night of the SOTU adress, I heard something that is a great take-away for Business Agility. … First a disclaimer, this take-away is not a political judgement ont he content, it is a refelction on political process. For the other, I refer you to the coverage.
Anyway,
one of the commentators, John King, made a statement that in the last 20 years, it seems that “this town” can only move one agenda item forward at a time, sometimes not even succeeding at that. And the President has to decide which that is for him…
The lesson for business is this doesn’t really work in our world anymore.
We live in a complex world where there are many moving pieces that affect each other. It’s no longer possible to hold everything still and focus only on one thing. Yes, we may have to prioritize, though hold multiple number one priorities. When we make decisions to change one, we need to consider how it changes others. While also always being prepared for what may come out of left field and drag us along with it.
For me, Business Agility is about having visibility of this web of interconnected priorities, make informed decisions that move all or some forward, and being always responsive to unknowns that can have an impact.