Most of the time we operate from our comfort zone.
If you do a quick review of your working practices, you will likely find the firm takes the path of least resistance -- it keeps doing things the same way, what it knows already.
This works when you need to get things done. It establishes an operational tempo for the organization. It's efficient as it has worked before.
You see things in relationship to what you know to look for.
This happens with approaches on problem solving as well as behaviors.
Put more attention on trying to replicate exactly what you did and you start focusing too much on the internal workings of the business as your only point of view and purpose, and soon it takes special effort to get outside and out of your own way.
The business is running efficiently, yet it stops short of more effectively.
Want to focus more on expanding capacity and adding new capabilities? Shift gears and get into why questions. Get back into learning mode if you want growth, or even if you want to stay relevant. Look at RIM and Blackberry, Nokia, Aol, Kodak, and a number of companies that went from strong position in the market to struggling to stay in the game.
You cannot just send a memo from management to demand growth without the motivation (why) and support of how the organization learns to trade its assets creatively to get there.
Views are expressed as behaviors. They become those that set the tone and everyone else in and around the organization gets with the program. When you see only what you expect to see, you go with plan A and don't have a plan B.
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Valeria is an experienced listener. She is also frequent speaker at conferences and companies on a variety of topics. To book her for a speaking engagement click here.
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