For many managers, implementing a new strategy in a company is like navigating through previously uncharted waters. Some are not entirely comfortable with the thought of the long journey – others are looking forward to the adventure. Not every ship is designed for such a trip and the route chosen depends on several factors. What other analogies there are between a sailing trip and organizational development, I describe in this article.
The ship, the crew and positioning
If one wants to describe companies, then various characteristics of the company can be described. In my article Don’t leave the development of your organization to chance, I presented a model that describes what I consider to be the most essential factors.
The characteristics of the individual factors vary from company to company and are unique – no two companies are the same.
Now, if each of these organizational factors is viewed like a dimension in a multidimensional space, each company could be uniquely represented in that space. Now, if each of these organizational factors is viewed like a dimension in a multidimensional space, each company could be uniquely represented in that space. Unfortunately, this is not possible graphically, so a two-dimensional representation is chosen below.
In the analogy to the sailing voyage, the organization and the people associated with it represent the ship and the cast. The position in the multidimensional space represents the current position of the ship.
The interaction with the market environment
External influences now act on every company. There are several systematic ways of looking at this. For example, Porter’s Five Forces or STEP analysis (with all its variations). In my presentation (see article above), I list a mixture of both approaches and describe the market environment through the factors: politics, technology, society, capital, customers, suppliers, partners and competitors.
In the analogy to shipping, this market environment is something like the weather, tides, currents, other ships and objects in the water. As with the weather, it is uncertain how the market environment will change. It is true that there are models that allow us to make forecasts. But an exact prediction is not possible due to the complexity. Both in weather and in the business environment, there are interactions among environmental factors and on the ship or organization.
However, I must note one important difference between the environment of the ship and the environment of companies: While a ship at sea has no influence whatsoever on wind and weather, companies do have an influence on environmental factors. For example, certain situations can lead to reactions in politics. Or companies try to exert influence through advertising or lobbying.
Set new goals and leave familiar waters behind
Now, what reasons can there be for wanting to lift the anchor and leave the current position? One reason could be an approaching storm or low water. In this case, we need to move our ship to avoid damage. In the business environment, this would be a necessary change due to, for example, changes in legislation or rising capital costs. The new position in the space that the company wants to reach, as the goal to be achieved, must be selected in such a way that it allows us to avoid the risks that this entails.
Another variation is an emerging opportunity that you want to take advantage of. For example, if your ship is carrying goods that are currently in high demand elsewhere – or you and your crew simply want to enjoy the popular port festivals – then the new destination is not for avoiding risks, but for realizing opportunities.
The attitude of your employees to the new goal, as well as the experience and skills of the crew and captain, have a significant influence on which goals an organization can achieve at all. Likewise, it will matter how well equipped your ship is and whether you have enough supplies.
Companies also need to reposition themselves strategically when it comes to avoiding emerging risks or realizing opportunities. And analogous to the presentation of ship and crew capabilities, what matters here is that the organization has the necessary knowledge, will, skills, and resources, and whether they are adaptable enough to operationalize the new strategy as quickly as possible. This is accompanied by the influence on organizational factors.
Position in the strategic options space
Navigating, observing and trimming the sails
No matter for what reason we choose a new position in the strategic space – The important thing is to keep a few things in mind. First of all, there is the question of accessibility. Do I have a ship that is fast enough to reach the desired position in the desired time? Is it perhaps too big for the intended berth? These are all issues that need to be evaluated against organizational factors. Is there enough equipment for the length of the trip and is the crew up to the challenge?
Then there is the issue of external factors. Will the wind and current allow us to reach the new position? Is the popular anchorage perhaps already fully occupied by other boats, so that we will not find a place? I think they already realize what entrepreneurial questions you need to ask yourself at this point.
The crossing should be planned so that they travel as directly as possible at maximum speed, without causing new problems by carelessness. This is because your goal should be to leave the risk area as quickly as possible, or to gain the advantage over other ships seeking a berth in the same port before the port is full, leaving little room for your own maneuvers.
Last but not least, there remains the task of navigating from the starting point to the destination. The navigator on the vessel will periodically check course and speed and record the current position to ensure that the vessel is still on the correct path to its destination. Does the weather change contrary to the forecasts – How does the environment change? It’s a good thing that, in addition to our measuring instruments such as the barometer, we have a lookout that accurately perceives the world around our ship. – Maybe there is something floating in the water that needs to be dodged? In this case, the direct route is no longer an option. I don’t think you want to run into an iceberg. Oh, and are there any early signs of seasickness among the crew – and were you prepared for it? After all, you don’t want a mutiny to happen.
Good navigation is important and represents our plan. This must now be implemented. On the ship, this is done by the helmsman – or helmswoman. And anyone who has ever held the rudder knows: the ship does not react immediately when rudder is laid. It is a fine art to bring the tiller or the steering wheel to the right position at the right speed and then to wait for exactly the right moment to move the rudder back in the opposite direction. Especially inexperienced rowers need some time to get a feel for this. If the helmsman reacts to every little wave movement and the inertia of the ship is not taken into account, unrest quickly occurs and the helmsman needs a lot of energy for constant corrections. By the way, this inertia is lower in dinghies than in a tall ship with three masts. The larger the ship, the more sluggishly it responds to the steering impulses at the rudder.
It is therefore necessary to constantly observe the environment, your own crew and your own ship, maneuver and adjust the sails optimally to the environment and the desired course. This part of the analogy refers to the management systems you have established in your company. These are, for example, your quality management, your project management approaches, human resources management, product management, etc. In a figurative sense, they serve to regulate the crew and the ship. The route you thus plan or later take from the starting point to the destination represents your change project.
What does all this mean for management
I hope you were able to take away some impulses for your organization from the analogy. I will summarize a few key messages again:
- Companies must constantly monitor their environment and be able to consciously perceive emerging opportunities and risks
- You need to be able to respond quickly to these changes.
- The interactions between organizational and market factors create a dynamic that needs to be regulated – this requires suitable management approaches and systems.
- Consider how you will be able to determine your position and progress during your project
- Professional organizational development initiates and accompanies changes systematically and increases the organization’s performance in the long term.
Feel free to try to think through your own entrepreneurial position based on the different market and organizational factors. Where are you right now? What factors do you still need to work on in order to be in the best possible position to realize the opportunities available on the market? What could a project look like to achieve this, what are the alternatives?
If you take enough time to answer all these questions sufficiently, the impending storms on the way to your destination will not upset you at all.
Image source:
Nastudio / stock.adobe.com
Own illustration
