If you insist on business-as-usual, you’re betting the farm that conditions haven’t changed substantially.

Do you believe that working obsolete processes more efficiently will lead to success?

Everyone will answer with a resounding “No.”

Yet that is what many companies are doing today. While new formulations are required, they are looking to do what no longer works, in a more cost efficient manner.

They hope to substitute strength of effort for upgraded ideas. They work to master infinite quantities of minutia when what is required is redefining the game.

Sit with your team---your advisors, key managers or employees---and periodically (quarterly) assess the game.

Do so deliberately, in order to sharpen your ability to focus on and recognize the elements of change in your competitive business world.

Without paying deliberate attention to this element of change, it is too easy to take for granted that you’ll spot early developments and grasp their significance as a team.

That’s a lot to assume in a dynamic marketplace.

If you are engaged in an ongoing business conversation (discussed in section 10), you will be paying some attention to these critical factors.

However, developing a shared understanding that enables everyone to collaborate to create organized responses to change is critical, and requires that the team, as a group, spends time considering members’ individual perspectives.

Although you’ll need to develop a list that fits your particular situation, there are some important considerations to keep in mind. Key conversation topics include such things as:

• What are we hearing from our customers?
  • About our performance?

  • About their evolving business needs?

• What can we assume our competitors are up to?
  • What are their sales folks and advertising efforts telling us?

  • How are they investing resources?

  • What are they saying to customers?

• Are there developments in the technologies of our business that affect our business idea?

• Are there developments in our value chain that could affect our business idea?

• Are there developments in our customers’ value chain that could affect their business ideas?

• What developments are we spotting that we can capitalize upon to create an advantage?

You will evolve your own system over time, but periodic reviews of what you’re learning can keep you from becoming complacent in your usual routines

The Alexander & Hornung Story: Highlights a small company that has developed many of the good practices recommended in this learning system. They have done it with a thoughtful, disciplined and passionate approach to their business over three generations. [Read Now]

30. Figuring Out The Evolving Game Today

Tool Preview: Guides a group through a broad assessment of current and possible future market dynamics. Identify emerging patterns, generate a shared orientation among key people, and develop a comprehensive understanding about competitors, suppliers and customers. [Read Now]

Deploying All Available Eyes and Ears:

You can’t afford to under use your resources. In section 6, Fit To Win, there is a section that deals with assessing your company’s ability to gather intelligence.

Still, it’s worth pointing out here that you need to use every resource you have to it’s fullest potential.

Use your game plan to orient all of your people to the possible sources of competitive intelligence that may come into their awareness as they work day-to-day.

In section 10, the conversation managing across boundaries discusses the information needs of your people as they work.

What we’re suggesting now is that broad intelligence/information targets need to be set for people.

The natural tendency is for people to interpret information from their own perspectives.

What you need to do is help them to lean how to consider that same information from the perspective the company as a whole.

While some people may occasionally do this on their own, they can’t be expected to do it well without some coaching and/or direction.

Include people; create channels for them to alert key people to important information.

This takes two levels of coaching.

The first is to help them relate the information to their own daily work responsibilities.

The second is to help people to look beyond their functional perspectives. They have to be helped to recognize the big picture. This idea of watching the environment has to permeate the whole company. Folks on the front lines won’t do it if their managers don’t care.

The managers won’t do it if the key executives already think they know it all.

It can cost little or nothing to act aggressively, in the marketplace, on your strategic intent.

Doing so requires the deliberate intention to do so; it doesn’t just happen by itself. The infrastructure that enables you, your organization, and your people to act proactively needs to be established.

This infrastructure has several elements:

• A shared understanding of the business idea and its working assumptions among all workers and managers in all areas of the organization.

• An expectation that everyone will act to reduce misalignments and capitalize on opportunities.

• An environment that encourages authentic conversation , urging people to talk across boundaries, silos or desktops, and insiders to talk to those outside the organization.

• A commitment to delivering what’s promised – no excuses accepted.

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