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Seven Stages

September 23, 2009 in GPa business, Values & Vision by Greg | No comments

Are you ready to transition from a successful business to a business that has a positive impact on society and the world -a significant business?

Let’s start by understanding how organizations transform and evolve through as many as seven distinct stages – ranging from survival to making a global contribution. Each of these stages builds upon one another and a particular focus that is important for that particular stage of development. For example in the survival stage an organization must focus on generating cash flow and profitability. Once that goal is met it must be sustained but the focus then shifts to the next stage of development.

Along with each stage of development that an organization evolves through there is a corresponding stage of leader development. Each stage of leader development specifies requisite developmental priorities, competencies and skills. Each stage also suggests a perspective or worldview as well as the progress of a leader’s psychological and spiritual journey.

It is important to note that while we use the terms “evolve” and “evolution” this does NOT mean that these changes occur naturally or without intention and purpose. The transformation of an organization requires a plan, a shift in culture and specific competencies at each stage.

Online presentation “The evolution of organizations”

What stage is your organization in and do you have the leadership skills necessary to progress to the next level?

Our Values & Vision tool can help you get started – Click here

Building a Values-Driven Organization

February 6, 2009 in GPa business, Values & Vision by Greg | No comments

If there is one thing that companies are learning in the current economic crisis, it is the importance of resilience – the ability to withstand and overcome business, economic, and societal shocks. The most resilient companies display the following characteristics:

A shared set of values
A commitment to the common good
A high level of staff engagement, and
A shared vision of the future

These are qualities that lead to internal cohesion. What the current crisis is showing us is that organizations that are strong on the inside are also strong on the outside. Being strong on the inside means having a values-driven core culture and a highly aligned and effective leadership team.

What are Values, and Why are They Important?

Values are deeply held principles that drive people’s behaviors. Organizations express their values through their working culture, and research strongly link financial performance with the alignment of organizational operating values and employees’ personal values. Who you are and what you stand for has become just as important as the quality of your products and services.

In Corporate Culture and Performance, John P. Kotter and James L. Heskett reveal that companies with strong adaptive cultures based on shared values outperform other companies significantly. During an eleven-year period, companies emphasizing all stakeholders grew four-times faster than companies that did not. Their job creation rates were seven times higher, stock prices grew 12 times faster, and profit performance was 750 times higher than companies that did not have shared values and adaptive cultures.

In Built to Last, Jim Collins and Jerry Porras note that over several decades companies that consistently focused on building strong corporate cultures outperformed companies that did not by a factor of six and outperformed the general stock market by a factor of 15.

John P. Kotter and James L. Heskett, Corporate Culture and Performance, (New York: The Free Press) 1992
James C. Collins and Jerry I. Porras, Built to Last, Successful Habits of Visionary Conies (New York: Harper Collins) 1994.
Source: Email correspondence with Richard Barrett, January 6, 2009.

Change

November 3, 2008 in GPa business by debra | No comments

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The biggest difference between management and leadership? The desired outcome. The desired outcome of managment is order and predictability- the desired outcome of leadershp is change. What is your vision and who do you want to create value for in the long run? How do you begin to effect change that moves your organization toward your vision? Change for the leadership team is intimately tied to change for the company. Effecting significant change, and how we change in the process. Identifying positive and effective change.

DesignShop: scan, focus & act!

July 15, 2008 in GPa business by debra | No comments

This video explains something about what a “DesignShop” is about. No two DesignShops are alike- but the results they produce can have a global impact.

Are your values working for you?

June 6, 2008 in GPa business, coaching by debra | No comments

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Are your values working- making money- for you? Quality is a value of course, but what are your other quantifiable values? Defining values, personal and corporate. What exactly is the price of non-conformance, and how are your values important to your success?