by Dr. Donald N. Sweet
We find many business people try to overcomplicate strategy. We don’t believe it needs to be complicated. There a just a few basic questions that must be answered. That said, what we find is what most businesses overlook is the most important element of strategy – a Healthy Team.
Change is a given and it’s accelerating. Companies that don’t have management teams that can change with market forces and demands will underperform, then disappear. That’s scary, as change is difficult for most of us.
Many teams put so much of their focus on being smart that they forget to work on being healthy. Smart teams are good at marketing, finance, technology, production, etc. All of which are important. The trouble is most other businesses also focus on them so they become table stakes.
Healthy teams are ones that have minimal politics, clarity around the important items, high morale, high productivity and low turnover. They work together well, making the best use of all of their resources. Healthy teams have the advantage of being able to focus on the important issues in a business. They don’t have to expend energy on the political intrigue present in so many of their competitors.
Our business schools train people to be smart. Focus is on right brain activities that are easier to calculate. As Pat Lencioni points out in his book The Advantage, the human side of the equation is much messier. But that is where organizational health resides.
There are a handful of important questions an organization must answer to move toward healthy. Of course to be effective they must also have the willingness to deal with messy human issues. Healthy organizations will be more competitive in the long run than merely smart ones.
If you would like a free, no obligation healthy review, please contact us at Vital Growth. We are passionate about helping organizations and their employees achieve healthy and sustainable growth.