Organization:
Overview of Core Frameworks
Local Training Module For First-year Associates
Associate Handbook
FOREWORD AND OBJECTIVE
This Organization Practice(OP) document provides an overview for use in local training
sessions for first-year associates. It is part of a “series on functional areas.” The objective of
the series is to introduce McKinsey practitioners to the basics in each of our functional areas
of expertise. All the documents in the series are comprehensive in nature and describe the
current tools and frameworks in that functional area
At the end of this document, you can find a section describing a selection of the core
documents and handbooks that can give you further details on some of the frameworks
descried here. All of these documents are now on PDNet; and hard copies of them can be
requested from PDNet Express, which will deliver them in 24 hours
The contents of this document have been adapted for local training sessions through
“Switching Tracks” — OP’s first-year module videotape, which communicates the basic
concepts in a concise and visual way using an actual client — The Scandinavian Railroad
Company. It is 40 minutes long and should be presented in 3 short segments. Between these
segments, the faculty member runs the attached exercises, adds any commentary he/she
considers necessary to clarify the concepts, and provides personal experience on selected
topics. A copy of the videotape and moderator’s guide with exercises can be requested from
the Firm
This document seeks to answer 4 questions
SECTION 1 Why do associates need to consider organizational issues in every engagement?
SECTION 2 What frameworks do we use to help our clients improve organizational performance?
SECTION 3 What role does an associate play in organization work?
SECTION 4 Where can an associate find out more?
McKinsey’s mission is to have lasting and substantial impact on our clients.
To succeed, we need to work all three of the critical elements: choose the best strategy,
develop world-class operations, align the organization.
These three elements both reinforce and constrain each other. The best strategy is only
relevant if it is operationally and organizationally feasible. The optimal organizational design
depends upon the strategic requirement and the operational methods of the client.
This document focuses on one vertex of this triangular relationship. It would be wrong,
however, to believe that you can achieve the impact we seek by focusing on one vertex. We
need to consider all three in every study.
CRITICAL ELEMENTS FOR IMPACT
Successful
strategy
Efficient
operations
Effective
organization
We only achieve impact when the organizations we serve are successful in implementing the
strategies and operational methods we propose.
However, a recent survey of engagements in which clients failed to implement proposed
strategies found, in three cases out of four, that the client organization was not change-ready or
even capable of implementing the strategy we proposed.
To ensure that we have impact, we need to consider organizational issues as we devise
strategies. We must choose strategies the clients are ready and able to implement or
complement our strategy work with investment in building the organization’s skills so that the
organization can step up to the challenge the superior strategy poses..
3 OUT OF 4 STRATEGIES THAT FAIL DO SO BECAUSE OF THE
ORGANIZATION’S INABILITY TO EXECUTE
Percent
100%=340 responses
Other
McKinsey
recommendations
flawed
8
17
40
35
Client not
change-ready or
committed
Organization lacked
the capabilities to
execute strategy
The demand for organizational work is increasing.
Trends in the marketplace and the evolving nature of our clients largely explain this increase
in demand.
The pace of change in the marketplace is accelerating . A strategic choice or an operational
innovation evokes a rapid reaction from competitor. Rarely can a durable competitive
advantage be found in these choices. Rather it is the development of a unique organizational
capability with the inherent flexibility and commitment to sustain world-class performance
that provides durable competitive advantage in these times of rapid change.
The clients we serve are changing as well. They have increasingly hired in-house strategic
capabilities. Most have built strategy shops close to the CEO. Few, however, have the in-house
capability and objectivity to do the organizational work required to make change happen.
ORGANIZATIONAL WORK GROWING IN IMPORTANCE
McKinsey’s engagement mix
Percent of time
Evolving marketplace
• Quickening pace of
strategic adaptation
• Durable competitive
advantage often rooted in
unique organizational
capabilities
Evolving players
• Many businesses acquiring
in-house strategic capability
• Making change happen
remains the “neglected art”
Crafting the
answer
45
77
55
Helping
implement
change
23
10 years
ago
Source: Survey of 23 MGMs across the Firm
Today
Increasing
demand for
help with
organization
issues and
change
management
The recent evolution in our clients has not been missed by our competitors. Each of our
competitors has recently introduced a branded organizational element to their portfolio. Their
organizational expertise figures prominently in their marketing campaigns.
COMPETITORS HAVE BRANDED ORGANIZATION TOOLS
Consulting firm
Product
Client example
BCG
Time –based competition
GE
General Systems
Process redesign
UPRR
Booz Allen
Continuous improvement
Exxon
United Research
Process redesign and facilitation
Mobil
Delta Point
Transformational change
SmithKline Beecham
McKinsey’s consulting approach must evolve as our clients evolve. These changes provoke a
shift in the nature of our work and an evolution of the role of the associate on engagements.
The increased demand for organizational work impacts associates directly. Associates are
drawn into leadership roles on larger teams at an earlier point in their careers. This places
greater emphasis on the need for associates to develop quite soon after joining McKinseysuperb team leadership skills.
EVOLUTION IN McKINSEY’S APPROACH
From…
To…
• “The answer”
• Solving for the “answer” and the change
process
• Managing client teams
• Building client capabilities
• Small, analytically focused teams
––average client team of 3*
• Multiple, highly leveraged McKinsey/client
teams
—Average client team of 10*
• CEO counseling by senior people
• Coaching and feedback at all levels
*Survey of 23 MGMs across the Firm
Before we dive into the organization materials, we should announce one critical caveat: the
frameworks you are about to see are only as good as the judgment and insight used to fill them
out. The frameworks are often mere checklists, useful tools to ensure you do not overlook a
key dimension. The OP can provide interview guides and questionnaires that you can use to
flesh out the frameworks, as well as applied examples in a range of settings. However, almost
all organizational issues are “situation dependent”, and almost all client settings are unique.
Your judgment, insight, creativity, and organizational acumen will determine whether you add
value in the client setting .
A CRITICAL CAVEAT
CONCEPTUAL
Garbage
Organizational
practice frameworks
Garbage
•Checklists
•Surveys, questionnaires
Good judgment, keen
insight, creativity,
organizational acumen
•Applied examples
Client impact
“Garbage in, garbage out”
A series of frameworks are available to help clients identify and address organizational limits
on effectiveness or obstacles to change. They also point toward solutions.
These frameworks help teams answer two fundamental questions:
¶ What change is needed?
¶
How should the client implement the change?
The OP has derived a set of six attributes that characterize high-performing
organizations(HPO). By assessing whether your client organization exhibits these six
attributes, you can diagnose whether an organizational performance gap exists as well.
Additionally, the 7-Ss will help you identify strengths and deficiencies in the organization.
The 7-Ss focus teams on aligning structure, staff, systems, and style to promote behavioral
change and build skills in pivotal jobholders. By contrasting the required skill set (at both the
organization and the pivotal jobholder level) with the current skill set, you can often clarify
the organizational gap that exists.
You complete the diagnostic by filling out the change board. That exercise helps teams
understand the organizational skill deficits or resistance to change so they can deliberately
plan to build the necessary skills and willingness to change in the organization.
Once the gaps have been identified, the team needs to lay out a change program to close the
gaps. The transformation triangle highlights the three critical dimensions of any effective
change program-top down, bottom up, cross-functional. The proper balance among these
dimensions depends on the gap, the client setting, and the competitive context.
Every change program contains some mix of six fundamental energizing elements. Each must
be considered as we design change programs.
This section of the handbook will discuss each framework in turn.
CORE FRAMEWORKS
What change is needed?
What gaps in organizational
performance exist?
How should the client make change happen?
What organizational
challenges exist?
What initiatives comprise
the change program?
① High-performing
②7-S framework
organization attributes
CEO
led
Vision
Performance
Winning formula
Strategy
Pivotal jobs
Skills
VISION
Simple
Skills
People
Shared
values
④Transformation
triangle
⑤Energizing
elements
Design levers
Organizationa
l structure
Staff
Management
systems
Leadership
style
③Change board
How do we create energy
for the change program?
Performance
management
Agend
a/platf
orm
•Direction setting
•Structuring
•Bottom-up energizing
Vision and
leadership
Problem
solving process
communication
Organizational
infrastructure
People
development
The OP undertook a study of 10 high-performing companies, true industry leaders, that we
knew very well. The companies had sustained pace-setting performance in their respective
industries over 2 decades.
These 10 HPOs shared six management attributes, each of which focuses on performance. By
comparing your client organization to these HPOs, you may identify opportunities to improve
your client organization.
①“HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPANY” ATTRIBUTES
What change is needed?
Gaps in
performance
Driven by leaders
Aligned by simple
structures and core
processes
How should the client
make change happen?
Organizational Initiatives
challenges
Energizing
elements
Built by relentless
pursuit of beforethe-fact
strategies/vision
Energized by an
extraordinarily
intense,
performance-driven
environment
Based on worldclass skills
Rejuvenated by
well-developed
people systems
The first three of the six common management attributes:
¶
Driven by leaders. The leaders of these companies had very high performance
aspirations. For these leaders there was no such notion as “good enough”. At the
center of these leadership groups, we consistently found demanding, unreasonable
CEOs.
¶
Built by relentless before-the-fact strategies/visions. HPOs spend their time
looking forward, not back. Their strategies drive relentlessly for both profitability
and growth.
¶
Energized by an extraordinarily intense, performance-driven environment.
HPOs have a demanding, occasionally punishing, work pace. There is real
accountability, especially at the top. HPOs, while being very good places to work,
are not always nice places to work.
ATTRIBUTES OF AN HPO
Driven by leader
Built by relentless pursuit
of before-the-fact
strategies/vision
Energized by an extraordinarily intense, performance
driven environment
• Very high performance
aspirations held by all key
leaders
• Demanding, “unreasonable”
CEOs
• Effective working group at
top
• Ability to penetrate to microlevel of their businesses
• Single-minded adherence to
simple, clear success
measures-not just financial
• Productive “fear of failure”
• Highly motivating, if not
inspiring, “end” state
• Frequently oriented toward
industry leadership
• Consistently striving for both
profitability and growth
• Passionate defenders of core
businesses
• Understanding of how
industry(s) works, what
customers want, and what
competitors can do- and how
these might change
• Demanding, occasionally
punishing, work pace; on call
all the time
• Real follow-through on
accountability – especially at
the top
• Aggressive learning from
things that do not work
• “good” places to work but
not always “nice”
• Performance shortfalls
change careers
• Members feel rewarded by
being part of winning
institution
The last three common management attributes focus on structure, skills, and systems:
¶ Aligned by simple structures and core processes. HPOs align authority, accountability,
and performance challenges. Lines of communication and approval are simple and are
mirrored from one division to the next.
¶ Based on world-class skills. HPOs are world class in at least one critical skill of their
industry, e.g., product development in high technology, risk management in wholesale banking,
direct-to-store delivery in consumer goods, best-cost manufacturing. Additionally, HPOs
exhibit superior process management skills that in and of themselves become a source of
competitive advantage.
¶ Rejuvenated by well-developed people systems. The CEO in these companies is the Chief
Personnel Officer. The CEO interacts regularly with the entire leadership group, understands
the individual development needs and goals, and leads staffing reviews.
ATTRIBUTES OF AN HPO (CONTINUED)
Aligned by simple
structures and core
processes
Based on world-class
company skills
• Straightforward alignment of • Do many things well, but at
authority, accountability, and
least 1 functional skill at
performance challenges
world-class competence level
underpins strategy
• Uncomplicated lines of
communication and approval • Also focus on building
– line to line
corporate skill in the way
they run the place
• Similar internal structural
units and key management
• Company key management
processes across the
processes viewed as real
company
competitive advantage
• Minimal critical staff reviews
• Regular calendar of key
management processes and
communication
Rejuvenated by welldeveloped people systems
• CEO is Chief Personnel
Officer
• Clear focus on performance
and motivation – successful
long-term wealth-building
programs seem key
• Management processes
ensure leaders have
“informed” view of key
contributors 2-3 levels down
• CEO leads annual “staffing
review” – best people/teams
in most critical/demanding
jobs
• “Bench strength” is a top
priority
The HPO research found something else common to the HPOs: all 10 were experimenting
with self-governance. Self-governance in these HPOs means empowerment with
accountability. The HPOs share the common characteristic of involving “a wide range of “or
“broad cross-section of” employees in driving for improved performance. Their goal is to
imbue every employee with an owner’s mind-set.
Self –governance in these HPOs is different from that practiced in other “engaged and
empowered” companies. In HPOs the single-minded objective of empowerment is
performance.
In the matrix below, the HPOs we studied were all in the top half of the matrix (high
performance); many were reaching, in addition, for the right-hand side of the matrix(engaged
and empowered).
PERFORMANCE AND EMPOWERMENT AT HPOs
Performance
High
Performancefocused, topdown-driven
organizations
Performance-driven,
empowered, and
accountable
organizations
HPOs
Average
Hierarchical,
command- and
control-oriented,
“entitled”
organizations
Activity-driven,
“engaged and
empowered”
organizations
Low
Command and control
Management approach
Engage and empower
Most large companies start out in the lower left-hand corner of the matrix (low performance
and command-and-control management approach). We discovered that HPOs that have
successfully transitioned to the upper right-hand corner have first achieved high performance
and then experimented with and adopted empowerment. Empowerment without first
establishing a true performance ethic in the company tends to result in continued low
performance.
If your client falls in the lower left-hand corner of this matrix, it needs to concentrate first on
building a true performance ethic. Empowerment, alone, is unlikely to yield performance
improvement.
TRANSFORMATION PATH
Path followed by highperformance companies
Performance
High
Path experienced by companies
that fail to instill performance
ethic first
• Emerson
• Pepsico
• Sonoco
• Sun Trust
• VF
• 3M
• GE
• Hallmark
• Johnson&Johnson
• Many high performers” on the journey”
• Most companies
• BP
• FP&L
• Wallace
Average
Low
Command and control
Management approach
Engage and empower
As discussed above, the first phase of the organization diagnostic identifies performance gaps.
The second phase focuses on identifying organizational issues and impediments to change.
The framework most commonly used to identify organizational issues includes seven buckets
that start with “S”.
¶ Strategy. An integrated set of actions that deliver a superior value to a set of customers with
a cost structure allowing excellent continuing returns.
¶ Institutional skills. End-result activities the company must be really good at in order to
deliver the value proposition.
¶ Shared values. Simple, agreed-upon principles that say what is important around here.
Taken together, the first 3-Ss define the company’s vision: an overriding goal that people in
the organization strive to achieve; that is challenging, valuable, and exciting to them; and
valuable and differentiated to the intended customer. To achieve the vision, the company must
design and align levers to guide the behavior of those holding pivotal jobs close to the front
line – i.e., those who directly affect delivery of value to the customer.
¶ Organizational structure. An orderly and predictable system to determine who reports to
whom and how tasks are divided up and integrated.
¶ Staff. The people in the organization considered in terms of their capabilities, experience,
and potential.
¶ Management systems. The processes and procedures through which things get done day-today.
¶ Leadership style. The way leaders focus their time and attention and the personal tone they
set.
② 7-S FRAMEWORK
What change is needed?
Gaps in
performance
Winning formula
Pivotal jobs
How should the client
make change happen?
Organizational
Organizational
initiatives
challenges
challenges
Energizing
elements
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
VISION
Shared
values
Management
systems
Leadership
style
At the heart of we mean by organizational performance is a “winning formula” creating a
combination of strategy, skills, and shared values to carry out an organizational purpose.
What links these elements together (the “overlap”) is the organization’s vision:
¶ The vision is the overriding goal of the organization – the place where strategy, skills, and
shared values intersect. It is the single, noble purpose that guides organizational priorities
and gives meaning to the day-to-day activity of the staff.
¶ For example, McDonald’s has a vision-driven “winning formula,” as described below.
McDONALD’S WINNING FORMULA
Vision :
to become the leading
restaurant chain in the
world
•
•
•
•
Convenient
Good quality
Consistent
Family-oriented
environment
• Fair value
Strategy
Skills
Shared
values
•
•
•
•
Quality
Service
Cleanliness
price
• Quality control over all
aspects of business
• Superior site selection
• Continuous new product
development
• Strong promotion of
products and
McDonald’s image
Organizations usually change in response to discontinuities – either external shocks (such as
deregulation ) or internal changes (such as new leadership) that make it clear that the old ,
“grooved” way of doing things is no longer winning. The successful ones will create a new
winning formula that is based on changes in strategy, newer or stronger skills, and/or shared
values.
Contrasting the new winning formula to the old formula identifies and gauges the change that
the organization is considering and defines the vision for the change program.
A change vision is a creed that summarizes what an organization is trying to become and why.
As such, it guides organizational priorities by redefining and recombining business objectives,
required institutional skills ,and corporate values about what is important around here.
A change vision is at the heart of top management’s role in improving performance and is
often the first step. It provides the vital bridge between the initial dissatisfaction with the
status quo and the first practical steps taken in a change program – the articulation of a clear
target that represents something better that is both logically sound and emotionally
appealing.
IMPROVING ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE
Grooved
Unfrozen
Redirected
Discontinuities
External shocks
Strategy
Skills
VISION
Shared
values
• New competitors,
economics
• New technologies
• Deregulation
Internal changes
• New aspirations
• New leader
Major change through people
New
strategy
New or
stronger
skills
CHANGE VISION
Shared
values
Certain key people in the organization hold positions that determine success or failure in
instituting a new strategy, skill, or shared value. These people fill what we call pivotal jobs.
We will only succeed in implementing the change vision if we succeed in changing the
behavior of pivotal jobholders.
At McDonald’s, for example, pivotal jobs include the centralized purchasers of all raw
materials for all stores, the store managers, and the hourly employees who take and assemble
orders.
PIVOTAL JOBS
What people must do
What are they ?
• Positions that have direct impact on
delivery of value to the customer.
Typically they
-Design the product
-Make the product
-Sell the product
• Positions that must capably master
new skills
Where are they?
• Close to the front line
In a recent study at a chain store retailer, the change vision included a significant improvement
in in-store convenience. Two positions were identified as pivotal jobs – the store manager and
the area operations manager.
This study employed a contrast analysis in two forms. The first considered each element of
behavior and defined how the new behavior would need to differ from current practices.
A behavior contrast analysis often proves helpful in defining precisely how the pivotal jobholders need to change.
CONTRAST ANALYSIS
Pivotal jobs: store manager, chain retailer
Elements
Old behavior
New behavior
Use of time
• Spend majority of time on daily
routine tasks – unloading trucks,
stocking shelves, etc.
• Devote much more attention to
training/coaching,
evaluating/experimenting with
pricing, staffing, merchandising
Job objective
• Ensure that day-to day store
operations run smoothly
• Manage store profitability and
implementation of new
convenience strategy
Critical skills
• Conscientious, responsible
• Basic math and writing skills
• Old skills, plus…
–Good instincts about how to
affect profits
–Leadership qualities
Criteria
• Task completion
• Financial performance
• Old criteria plus added emphasis
on…
–Customer service
–Inventory management
–Store appearance
The second analysis contrasted the percentage of time spent on critical tasks under current
practices and envisioned in the future.
CONTRAST ANALYSIS BY PERCENTAGE OF TIME SPENT
Pivotal job: area operations manager
100%
Short vendor contacts •
Recruiting SM and •
pharmacist
Disciplining •
Balancing inventory •
Follow-up on telephone •
messages
Inventories •
Paperwork •
Putting out fires •
Monitoring compliance •
–Policies
–Planograms
Answering surveys •
Filling out appraisals •
District reports •
10
Merchant/
owner
15
30
Coach
40
• Tailor products, services, pricing, and
promotion to segments
•Search for new business
•Evaluate business and customer service
performance
30
• Expand one-on-one time with SM and
associates
• Train and motivate face-to-face for
customer service, inventory
management…
•Encourage SM to innovate
20
•Clerical support should eliminate tasks
20
•Clerical support should eliminate tasks
Player
35
Administraor
Current
Proposed
The 3-S winning formula sets the standards, goals, and mission of the organization. How do
you get people (particularly pivotal jobholders) to actually follow those goals?
While you can dictate what skills and shared values you want , the organization must
provide guidance, motivation, and monitoring to see that the right decisions are made.
This is provided through the other Ss – structure, systems, staff, and style. Collectively known
as the “design levers”, each of these four should be set by considering the specific skills and
shared values you want to instill in the organization’s people – and balancing them with other
designs that might be suggested by other specific skills and shared values needed.
¶ Structure. Who reports to whom and how tasks are both divided up and integrated.
¶ Systems. The processes and procedures through which things get done from day to day,
including hiring, compensation, performance evaluation, promotions policy, and training.
¶ Staff. The people in the organization considered in terms of their capabilities, experience,
and potential.
¶ Style. The way managers collectively behave with respect to use of time, attention, and
symbolic actions.
ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN LEVERS AT McDONALD’S
Winning formula
Pivotal jobs
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
• Hamburger University degree
required
• Promotion from within to build
experience
Management
systems
• Regular inspections
• Franchise expansion based on high
grades on prior inspections
• Many procedural mechanisms
aimed at building employee
enthusiasm and loyalty
Leadership
style
• Hard-nosed, rigid attitude on how
to run the business
VISION
Shared
values
• Centralized buying to control fat
content
The skills and shared values must be used to determine needed changes in organizational design. For
example, McDonald’s specific skill of quality control drives many organizational design decisions.
Structure 1. Centralized buying provides more than economics of purchasing. It also helps ensure that
fat content is between 17.0 and 20.5 percent and ensures that burgers are 100 percent beef.
Staff
1. Owner –operators have more say on quality of operations than absentee investor-owners.
2. Training at Hamburger University ensures that managers really know how to make the
food right. It is a $40 million facility, with 750-student capacity per 2-week session, and
translation booths for foreign managers. It is the only school in the fast-food industry
accredited by the American Council of Education.
3. Promotion from within builds experience in meeting company standards and reinforces
shared values.
Systems
1. Operating systems, including job descriptions and performance appraisals, ensure that
quality of operations meets standards..
2. All franchises are inspected on a regular basis, including grades( A through F) on QSC.
3. Unlike other franchises that give rights to territories, McDonald’s franchises cannot expand
unless they show a history of high quality in operations.
4. McDonald’s Personnel Action Manual provides mangers with a wide array of programs to
keep crew members motivated and committed.
Style
1. Little tolerance for variance from operations standards, except as well-thought-out
improvements. No shortcuts allowed.
2. Kroc’s inspections. Before entering a franchisee’s office, Kroc would often pick up all the
trash within a two-block radius of a McDonald’s restaurant and then dump it on the
franchisee’s desk to show a need for greater cleanliness in McDonald’s vicinity.
ORGANIZATIONAL DESIGN LEVERS AT McDONALD’S
Winning formula
Pivotal jobs
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
• Hamburger University degree
required
• Promotion from within to build
experience
Management
systems
• Regular inspections
• Franchise expansion based on high
grades on prior inspections
• Many procedural mechanisms
aimed at building employee
enthusiasm and loyalty
Leadership
style
• Hard-nosed, rigid attitude on how
to run the business
VISION
Shared
values
• Centralized buying to control fat
content
The design lever clients exercise the most is probably structure. Too often we hope that by
tinkering with boxes in organizational charts, we can solve organizational problems. Structure
is really about how to arrange people and jobs for optimum performance.
A few assertions about structure:
¶ There is no one best structure for any company. Structure choices for a client may change
over a few years, depending on external environment, leaders’ strengths, and internal
capabilities.
¶ Structural choice should be based on the desired behaviors for the organization, which are
based on strategic direction.
STRUCTURAL OPTIONS
Strategic direction
Desired behavior
Structural options
1. Greater uniformity
across the
organization
• Centralization
• Small span of control; many layers
• Functional structure
2. Rapid adaptation to
quickly changing or
complex
environment, or
greater response to
market
• Decentralization
• Fewer corporate staff
• Flat structures
• Business unit structure to match
strategic direction
(geographic/product/market segment)
• Temporary teams across products or
functions
3. Rapid technological
innovation
• Centralized technical staff for
economies of knowledge
• Decentralized task force for focus,
Initiative
4. Cost reduction
• Concentrating staff only at level where
integration is most crucial
• Flatter structures; broad span of control
The change board framework can be useful for understanding the commitment and ability to
undertake major change. For each management layer and pivotal job, it asks:
¶ Who among the important players is able to perform is his/her part in providing the new
skill?
¶ What do they have or lack:
• Conviction that the new skill is important?
• Courage - the “guy” willingness to do what ever it takes to develop new skills?
• Individual ability – that is, personal skills or talents?
• Organization supports – such as the necessary system support?
Investing time in a change board analysis has helped a number of leadership teams
understand the nature of the current gap and gain insight into the most effective skillbuilding program
③ CHANGE BOARD
What change is needed?
Gaps in
performance
Skill to
be built
Chief executive
(or equivalent)
Leadership group of
area to be changed
Down-the-line
staff affected*
External
Constituencies**
* Modified as appropriate for company
** E.g., customers, suppliers, trade unions
Commitment
Conviction
Courage
How should the client
make change happen?
Organizational
Organizational
initiatives
challenges
challenges
Energizing
elements
Capability to leverage
the commitment
Individual
Organization
ability
supports/obstacle
Specific questions can guide you as you fill out the change board.
¶ Will people have to
• Learn new skills?
• Learn new behaviors?
• Reestablish priorities?
• Delegate/assume decision making responsibility?
• Build new working relationships?
• Compromise other agendas?
¶ Do people have the capacity to make all these changes?
¶ Have people had positive or negative experiences with past change efforts?
¶ Is the change consistent with existing cultural norms?
• Beliefs /values
• Behaviors
A retail chain provided this example of a completed change board.
CHANGE BOARD – CHAIN RETAILER EXAMPLE
Delivering
in-store
convenience
Top
management (6)
Commitment
Diagnosis
Capability
Individual
Organization
ability
supports/obstacle
Intellectually
Fair to strong Strong, except
Little support
convinced, but
• COO lacks field • No performance measures
•Distant from
experience
on in-store
field realities
• HR position
• History of top-down
•LBO pressures
vacant
“customer service programs
Conviction
Courage
Lip service
Weak
• “Make the field Moderate
Other
Officers/“owners” do its job”
• “H.O. does not
Home office (15) understand what
Field (8)
it is asking for”
Fair to strong
Fair
Few support
• “Segmentalist” rivalry
among functions
• Inadequate operating
systems
• “Can do” style (do not
admit weakness)
Fair to weak
Overloaded: span of
Area operations Suspicious, but Strong
control=60-80
Managers (125) eager to believe
Fair: ready to Fair: most trained “Horizontal priorities”
Store managers Cynical (“yet
another program”) follow clear as “task masters” (unrealistic number of tasks
and
orders from
assigned)
assistants (3,200)
above
Turnover increasing; too few labor
Mixed , but many ?
Surprisingly
Associates
natural supporters
strong, on average hours for full service
(30,000)
A completed change board often suggests the actions that may be necessary to build the
commitment and capability required to implement change within your client’s organization. In
the chain retailer case, actions included:
1. Lock – in support
• COO as “champion”
• Full –time change leader (facilitator)
• Line accountability
• 3-year commitment
2. Create shared responsibility for progress
• Three “skill teams,” each headed by a field “baron”
• District entrepreneurship: each district manager to experiment with two to three
initiatives and then share lessons
3. Build a success model from below
• Focus on one pilot area (14 stores )
• Use full-time task force of high-potential area managers (eight managers, 3-to 9month tours )
• “Trained “area managers return to home districts to lead pilot area process there
4. Force awareness of realities
• Quarterly workshops to assess progress on skills
• Close observation of pilot area (“ If we can’t make it work in one area, there’s no
point in talking about company wide programs” )
5. Restructure field organization
• Store staffing standards
• AOM span of control, supports
• New recruiting/selection
• Link to pharmacy strategy/skill gaps
CHANGE BOARD – CHAIN RETAILER EXAMPLE
Delivering
in-store
convenience
Top
management (6)
Other
Officers/“owners”
Home office (15)
Field (8)
Area operations
Managers (125)
Store managers
and assistants
(3,200)
Associates
(30,000)
Commitment
Conviction
Courage
Strategy
Capability to achieve change
objectives
Individual
Organization
ability
supports/obstacle
1.Lock in
support
4. Force
awareness
of realities
2.Create shared
responsibility
for progress
3. Build a success model from
below
5. Restructure
field
organizatio
n
To answer the question, “How should change happen?” , the OP developed the “organizational
transformation triangle” that summarizes the three basic management tasks when dealing with
change. Their relative emphasis may vary, but all three of them have to be managed to achieve
fundamental behavioral change.
④TRANSFORMATION TRIANGLE
What change is needed?
Gaps in
performance
How should the client
make change happen?
Organizational
initiatives
challenges
Energizing
Energizing
elements
elements
3. Cross-functional initiatives
1. Top-down direction setting
Top
management
④
Process design, target,
communications, etc.
Link activities and information
in new ways for break-through
performance
Staffs
Operations
2. Front-line performance improvement
Unit-by-unit, team-oriented, problem solving
The well-known GE “workout!” change program included elements from each dimension of
the transformation triangle.
GE “WORKOUT!”
1. Top-down direction
setting/culture shaping
• No.1 or No.2 in every
business
• “speed, simplicity, selfconfidence”
3. Core process redesign
• Project teams to identify crossfunctional issues
• Process mapping
• Delayering
• Best practices workshops
2. Bottom-up performance improvement
• Town meetings: 2- to 5- day interactive sessions
• “Brand name” quality processes
• Operations: unit-by-unit redesign
The client should seek an appropriate balance across all three dimensions of the
transformation triangle. Overreliance on any dimension will impede change.
BALANCE ON 3 DIMENSIONS IS KEY
Requirements
Dimension
Potential risk from overreliance
• Energizing vision
• Customer/shareholder/emplo
yee triad
• Clear performance targets
• Lack of commitment
• Confusion
• Cynicism
• Performance wins
• Relevant knowledge and
skill building
• Expansion expectation
• Unfocused efforts
• Ignored or undermined by
management
• Cross-functional opportunities
missed
• Discontinuities addressed
• Clearly understood process
installed
• Old systems/structure/
processes eliminated
• Overly complex
• Beyond existing skill and
capabilities
The OP has defined a wide array of change approaches. Each change approach strikes a unique
balance among the dimensions of the transformation triangle. Your challenge is finding the
change approach that strikes the balance appropriate for your client situation.
OVERVIEW OF 5 PERFORMANCE CHANGE APPROACHES
A
B
C
D
E
Structured
process-Driven
problem
solving
(compliance)
Empowered
opportunitydriven
innovation
Values-driven
adaptive
improvement
Crossfunctional
process
redesign
Top-down,
skill-driven
building/
improvement
Example
TOP/AVA
Breakthrough
TQM
CPR
Corporate
skill teams
When
appropriate
Step change
Change-ready, Approaching
needed quickly flexible
theoretical limits;
Entitled
organization
performance ethic
culture
and capability in
place
Crossfunctional
redesign
needed
New basis for
competitive
advantage
needed
Quicker,
cheaper,
better
Lasting
competitive
advantage
Description
Transformation emphasis
Typical goals 40% of
Up to each
Continuous
compressible team; typically, improvement
costs (imposed) stretch targets
in quality, cost,
etc.
No matter what change program is selected, the following six energizing elements should be
addressed. By addressing each one, the client builds the energy required to make organizations
change.
⑤ ENERGIZING ELEMENTS
What change is needed?
Gaps in
performance
• Ambitious,
measurable objectives
• Reinforcing feedback
• Consequences
Performance
measurement
Organizational
challenges
How should the client
make change happen?
initiatives
Communications
Vision and
leadership
• Winning formula
• Winning leadership
group
Energizing
elements
• Build commitment
• Establish 2-way flow
• Manage expectations
• Inspire action
Organizational
infrastructure
Problem
solving process
• Doer-driven
• Fact-based
• People-intensive
• Systems and process
• Structure
People development • Roles
• New mind-set
• New skills, behavior
The OP has a wealth of experience and research to support the design of each element of a
change program.
POSSIBLE ACTIVITIES/TOOLS
• World benchmarks
• Project performance indicators framework
• Performance maps
• Performance contracts pro forma
• Best practice examples
Performance
measurement
Vision and
leadership
• Leading for success
• CEO time-leverage
manual
Problem
solving process
• Analytical tool kit framework
• Analytical problem solving workshop
• “data to chart” video and workbooks
• Client advocacy videos
• Skill/will/diagnostic
• Continuous improvement principles
workshop
• Best practice examples
Communications
• Communications coordination
team-job specifications
• Communications channels audit
• Stakeholder analysis
• Communications plan
• Communications workshop
• Best practice examples
Organizational
infrastructure
• Core process redesign
• Example role description
People development • “7-S” checklist
• Framework for designing skill-building programs
• Discrete training modules — management skills (MFS),
leadership skills(LFS), building high-performing teams, project
management guide, designing ongoing improvement
• Discrete tools — RJDs, time-usage logs, change-readiness
surveys, signaling change tool kit, how to run a training
workshop
• Beliefs/behavior-prompt sheet — staff activity survey
• Best practice examples
A packaging company applied these energizing elements as they built the skill they called
value-based systems selling (VBSS):
¶ With a clear vision and leadership settled, the company decided on a problem solving
process that involved six multinational skill teams, each with a credible leader.
¶ Their performance measures were narrowed to two aspects: in terms of input, they
measured account plans created and number of plans created and number of people
trained; in terms of output, they measured price and market share.
¶ To communicate the message, the president embarked on a “road show” to
manufacturing and sales locations; the senior managers attended workshops; and a
newsletter/bulletin about VBSS was begun.
¶ The organizational infrastructure was modified to establish account teams, global
account managers, and an account planning function.
¶ On the people development front, an “ action learning” program was begun to teach
people more about account planning.
All these tools and activities were focused on achieving a new level of excellence in the core
skill of VBSS that the company knew was critical to its strategy.
VBSS
•Input
–Account plans
–People trained
•Outputs
–Price
–Share
Performance
measurement
• Awareness building – President’s
road show
• Skill building through workshops
• Reinforcement through VBSS
network bulletins
Communications
Vision and
leadership
• The leader skill
for becoming $1
billion
• President as
sponsor
Organizational
infrastructure
Problem
solving process
• Multinational skill
teams with 6 credible
champions
• Pilot effort with
leadership to get buyin and advice
People development
• Account-based
“action learning”
program
• Account teams
• Global account
managers
• Account planning
Associates will often step up to manager roles on engagements that address organization
issues and/or implement change. These engagements often involve multiple client teams.
Associates assume responsibility for managing one or more of these client teams. These
engagements also seek the active support of a broader set of client managers. Associates
assume responsibility for developing influential relationships with critical client managers.
Engagements which focus on organization issues therefore provide exceptional opportunities
for associates.
ASSOCIATES ASSUME MANAGER ROLES IN
ORGANIZATION ENGAGEMENTS
Traditional view of team roles
Team roles on organization engagements
Client
manager
ED/DCS
Associate
ED/DCS
Client
EM
Associate
Client
manager
Associate
Client
team
EM
Client
manager
Client
team
Client
team
Sr.
client
exec.
Client
team
Associate
Client
manager
Client
team
The effective associate manager serves three functions:
1. The associate manager builds and sustains effective client teams that define, plan, and
implement the change .
2. The associate manager leads problem solving on multiple client teams.
3. The associate manager forges a consensus of support for the change vision among
critical client managers and ensures that managers maintain the energy level required
to effect the change.
All three functions are critical to success. However, in engagements that address organization
issues and /or implement change, building and sustaining an effective team is often the
necessary precondition to success in the other functions. The client team provides the critical
insight, knowledge, and skills required to solve the organizational problem. The associate /
manager needs to build an effective team environment to tap into the essential client input.
The client team should hold the confidence of the critical client managers. Once the associate
manager has earned the endorsement of the client team, the support of the client manager is
much more likely.
MANAGERIAL ROLES
Client
involvement
Problem
solving
Consensus
builder
Team
dynamics
Coach and team
developer
Chief engineer
•
•
•
•
Focuser
Structurer
Quality controller
Devil’s advocate
Since effective teams are so fundamental to success in organization work, the OP has invested considerable effort in
understanding how to build high-performance teams. Follow these principles to build high-performance teams.
PRINCIPLES OF TEAM BASICS
Dimension
Definition
Meaningful
purpose
The team purpose must
• Inspire the individual team members
• Justify the investment of Firm and client resources, as well as the personal investment of each
individual
For an engagement team, the purpose must include reference to substantive and sustainable client
impact
Clear
performance
goals
The best teams translate the purpose into a well-defined set of tangible and measurable goals.
The goals encompass
• What will be achieved for the client in terms of performance
• What will be achieved for the team and its individual members
• Nearer-term goals, as well as “completion-related” goals
Well-defined
working
approach
The best teams decide up front and throughout the effort how to work together day-by-day, and how
individual team members will apply and develop their skills as they produce collective results above
and beyond what members working as individuals could produce. Their working approach allows
substantive time for “unstructured” creative team thinking/brainstorming
Complementary The best teams are composed of individuals who provide or are expected to develop the full range and
skills
depth of skill needed to fulfill the purpose. Skill development is seen as a key reward for team
participation. This applies particularly to functional skills, but also to problem solving skills and
interpersonal skills
Mutual
accountability
In the best teams, all team members feel mutually accountable for accomplishing the team’s purpose
and performance goals. Individuals do not succeed or fail – the team does
Small numbers
Superior team performance can only be achieved by a small number of people who can spend
substantial time working together as a team. A group of more than approximately 15 people has little
chance of becoming a superior team
The principles are described much more thoroughly in The Wisdom of teams, authored by Jon Katzenbach.
PRINCIPLES OF TEAM BASICS
Coach and team
developer
Meaningful
purpose
Clear
performance
goals
Small
numbers
TEAM
BASICS
Mutual
accountability
Well-defined
Working
approach
Complementary
skills
Source: The Wisdom of Teams
A team’s potential is defined by the quality of its membership. The associate manager should,
whenever possible, participate actively in the selection of team members. Recent research by
the OP has found that most successful change programs were driven by a few impassioned
leaders. These “real change leaders” exhibit a common set of characteristics. Look for these
attributes as you consider which client people to include on the team.
REAL CHANGE LEADERS
“People with a reputation for improving performance through people – and for exceeding
expectations along the way” *
• Commitment to a better way
• Courage to challenge existing power bases
• Personal initiative to go beyond defined boundaries
• Motivation of themselves and others
• Caring about how people are treated and enabled to perform
• Staying under cover
• A sense of humor about themselves and their situations
* Real Change Leaders
.
Once the associate manager has assembled the right team and built an effective team
environment, solving the problem should be easier. The principles of good problem solving do
not change for engagements that address organization issues and/or implement change. The
way the associate participates does change, however. Here are a few recurrent themes taken
from interviews with associates after their first organization engagement
¶ Let the team solve the problem. You won’t have time to solve the problem yourself when
you have multiple teams to manage. More importantly, the team will feel more
ownership for the solution if you let them solve the problem.
¶ Teams should be productive. Focus the team on action and work. Define specific end
products.
¶ If you have assembled the right team, every member has an important part of the answer.
Engage the entire team in solving the problem. Every team member should have a
challenge piece of the problem.
¶ Meetings are necessary evil for effective teams. Keep them to a minimum. Prepare
meetings carefully so that they are a constructive use of team time.
¶ Listen. Especially on organization problems, the client often knows the answer but needs
help recognizing it.
SOLVING THE PROBLEM
• Structure the problem, then let the team solve it
• Focus the team on action and work – not process, talk, and
review
• Keep the entire team engaged
• Prepare brief, high – impact meetings
• Listen
Chief engineer
• Focuser
• Structurer
• Quality controller
• Devil’s advocate
If you have the consensus of the team, it should be easier to sustain the support of critical
client managers. A few basic principles merit emphasis:
¶ You need to begin building credibility with client managers early in the study. Talk to them
early and often. Engage then in defining the issues and prioritizing the work. This ensures
that their issues will be addressed.
¶ Managers have specific interests and motivations; these interests explain much of their
behavior. You will be more effective at influencing managers if you spend a few moments
trying to understand their interests. Before each discussion, consider how your
recommendations impact the client manager’s interests.
¶ When issues or concerns become apparent, address them squarely. There is little value in
avoiding and issue; it will come out eventually. Many issues evaporate when explicitly
discussed. Many others can be resolved by specific analysis. Issues that persist need to be
factored into the team’s thinking.
¶ Whenever appropriate, include key team members in important discussions with critical
client managers. Then client manager will get to know the team members better and place
more trust in their advice. When you include team members, the client manager can sense
first-hand the strength of the team consensus. As an added benefit, team members appreciate
the opportunity to interact with managers, and they can help you interpret the client
manager’s feedback.
¶ Good written materials are always useful in client manager discussions. Preparing them
forces the team to explicitly agree on the content. After presentation they serve as a solid
record of what was said.
The opportunity to interact with client managers in one of the more attractive elements of
organization work. Associates can use this interaction to develop client relationship skills that
will be vital in the years ahead.
BUILDING CONSENSUS
• Talk to critical managers early and often
• Understand the motivations of the critical managers
• Address issues and concerns directly
• Include key team members in important discussions
• Prepare clear, concise written materials
Consensus
builder
We hope that you take away four major points from this session:
¶ Performance is the point of our consulting work, which involves an integration of
strategy and organization.
¶ Inevitably, at the heart of all our work is change. And at the heart of change is a respect for
and understanding of people.
¶ To understand organization performance and bring about lasting change, it is as important to
problem solve for how ( the engagement process ) as what ( the engagement issues).
¶ Organization work provides associates an opportunity to stretch their people-management
skills early.
WHAT WE HOPE YOU TAKE FROM THIS DOCUMENT
1. Winning performance is based on the integration of strategy and organization
2. Respect for and understanding of people is at the heart of all change
3. Problem solving for process is as important as problem solving for issues
4. Associates have a significant and rewarding role to play in organization work
WHERE CAN AN ASSOCIATE FIND OUT MORE
Selected core documents and handbooks
The overview of core of frameworks in Sections 1 and 2 of this document describes the basics
and provides a template to better understand client organization issues, which should prove
helpful in almost any engagement because no matter what the focus of an engagement is, a
basic understanding of the process of change is necessary to focus on the priorities of the
client
Once you are assigned to an engagement of this kind, you may need to read more about some
of these frameworks or gather handbooks about the topic. As you may know, PDNet contains a
large array of documents that may be useful to you. You can get hard copies of such
documents in 24 hours using “PDNet Express” through your local library
However, there are thousands of documents in the Firm’s databases; therefore, the key for
efficient data gathering and “getting smart fast” will be to access only a limited and targeted
selection of documents when you need them. This section provides you with some hints on
key, core documents of the organization practice and related disciplines
Appendix
This appendix contains:
1. HPO bulletins
2. Glossary of 7-S framework
3. Organization transformation triangle
4. Energizing elements
GLOSSARY OF 7-S FRAMEWORK
Winning formula
Pivotal jobs
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
• Hamburger University degree
required
• Promotion from within to build
experience
Management
systems
• Regular inspections
• Franchise expansion based on high
grades on prior inspections
• Many procedural mechanisms
aimed at building employee
enthusiasm and loyalty
Leadership
style
• Hard-nosed, rigid attitude on how
to run the business
VISION
Shared
values
• Centralized buying to control fat
content
Winning formula
STRATEGY
Pivotal jobs
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
VISION
Shared
values
Management
systems
Leadership
style
What is it?
An integrated set of actions to deliver a superior value to a set of customers
with a cost structure allowing continuing excellent returns
What is it
important?
• Gives direction and purpose to organization activities
• Strongly influences what skills the organization needs, what values are
stressed, and how it should be designed
• Provides benchmark for measuring organization’s success and redirecting
its activities
What must I
know about it?
• Balance between strategic thinking and capability to execute often
unmanaged
• Strategy formulation must consider the complexities of external
environment (e.g., discontinuities gaining ) balanced with internal history
and capabilities
• Increasingly, superb performers frequently win not by “inventing it first”,
but by doing it best
• In highly uncertain environments, institutional skills may help dictate
strategy
Winning formula
INSTITUTIONAL SKILLS
Pivotal jobs
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
VISION
Shared
values
Management
systems
Leadership
style
What they are?
End – result activities the company must be really good at in order to
deliver the value proposition
Why are they
important?
• To help people focus on the 2-4 skills critical to delivery of the value
proposition
• They drive organization design – other organization elements must be
designed to build needed skills
What must I
know about
them?
• Institutional skills are organization capabilities, not just abilities of
managers or other staff
• Strategy work is incomplete without explicit consideration of the
institutional skills required to execute the strategy
• Institutional skills increasingly are the primary basis for achieving
sustainable competitive advantage
Winning formula
Pivotal jobs
SHARED VALUES
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
VISION
Shared
values
Management
systems
Leadership
style
What they are?
Simple terms that say, “ What is important around here? “
Why are they
important?
• Provide means to achieve value proposition through
–Aspirations, pride, emotion, and energy
–Focus, guidance, and learning orientation
–Solution space/ tie breakers
What must I
• Shared values are probably the hardest S to influence
know about them? • But ignore at your peril. Any strategy consistent with deeply grooved
shared values will never be implemented
• The leadership team must articulate, believe in , and be credible on
shared values
• Shared values are shaped by obsessive, persistent communication from
leaders
Winning formula
VISION
Pivotal jobs
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
VISION
Shared
values
Management
systems
Leadership
style
What is it? An overriding goal that people in the organization strive to achieve; that is challenging,
valuable, and exciting to them; and valuable and differentiated to the intended customer
Why is it • “Strategy and tactics are for the battlefield, but the battle must be fought for a purpose
important? of value to society”
Genichi Kawakami, Yamaha Corporation
• Provides meaning, motivation, and source of pride to attract and retain customers and
able employees
• Helps drive long-term strategy formulation and development of needed skills and values
• Supplies courage in the face of the unknown by providing sense of stability and enduring
themes
• Guides and inspires daily behavior, reducing need for bureaucratic rules and systems
What must • Leader must set and live by vision for it to permeate institution
I know
• Best visions are simple, easy-to-understand, and demand nothing short of long-term
about it?
excellence
• Financial goals (e.g., increase SOM, increase shareholder wealth ) are not visions; they
do not excite the organization’s people or provide enough competitive differentiation to
serve as standard for behavior
• Vision is extremely difficult to change significantly without creating discontent, reduced
effectiveness, and even abandonment of institution by its best people and customers
• However, visions can and must be constantly challenged and changed at the margin to
adjust for the institution’s changing environment
Winning formula
PIVOTAL JOBS
Pivotal jobs
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
VISION
Shared
values
Management
systems
Leadership
style
What is it?
Positions, close to the front line, that have direct impact on delivery of
value to the customer (e.g., those who design the product, make the
product, and sell the product )
Why is it
important?
• Successful implementation of any change hinges upon the pivotal
jobholders acquiring new skills
• Thinking about the new skills these pivotal jobholders must acquire
pushes the depth and rigor of our thinking
What must I
know about it?
• Relationship between microskills of pivotal jobs and macroskills of the
organization
• Contrast analysis compares microskills required after a major change
program to those currently required in the organization
• Reverse-engineer the organizational design – start with the results you
expect; identify the behavioral change needed to achieve those results;
then shape the “other Ss” to influence pivotal jobholders to perform as
required
Winning formula
Pivotal jobs
STRUCTURE
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
VISION
Shared
values
Management
systems
Leadership
style
What is it?
An orderly and predictable system to determine who reports to whom
and how tasks are divided up and integrated
Why is it
important?
• Facilitates coordination and integration
• Symbolizes priorities
• Focuses organization attention
What must I
know about it?
• Design should support needed skills and shared values
• Structure is most powerful tool for energizing change
• Structuring is not simple
• Key structural issues include
–Types of structure
–Span of control
–Centralization vs. decentralization
Winning formula
STAFF
Pivotal jobs
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
VISION
Shared
values
Management
systems
Leadership
style
What is it?
The people in the organization considered in terms of their capabilities,
experience, and potential
Why is it
important?
• Staff composition and productivity are important determinants of
current and future strategic success
• The people who make and sell the product/service collectively
determine if the client delivers superior value
What must I
know about it?
• Front-line positions require detailed attention to specific skills and
shared values
• Key issues can include who to hire, how to train and coach them, how
to motivate and reward them, and what information to give them
• Support positions must reflect the needs of the front-line people
Winning formula
SYSTEMS
Pivotal jobs
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
VISION
Shared
values
Management
systems
Leadership
style
What is it?
The processes and procedures through which things get done from day to
day
Why is it
important?
Most important tool for
• Commanding attention
• Influencing behavior
• Indicating how things really work here
What must I
know about it?
• Best companies employ relatively few and simple systems
• They should be shaped on a regular basis
• Important types include
– Management information systems (MIS)
– Incentive systems
– Planning
• Systems to get right information in the hands of the right people are
increasingly important
Winning formula
Pivotal jobs
STYLE
Design levers
Organizational
structure
Strategy
Skills
Staff
VISION
Shared
values
Management
systems
Leadership
style
What is it?
The way people focus their time and attention. There are tow types
• Personal tone (e.g., supportiveness, argumentativeness )
• How people spend time, what questions they ask, settings they appear in
Why is it
important?
The key lever in shaping values and reinforcing strategy
What must I
know about it?
• What people do means more than what they say
• The best leaders use style to emphasize a few simple values
• While personal tone is hard to change, managers can more easily adapt
how they spend time, questions they ask, and settings they appear in