What do you think are the most destructive traits of any company? The answer may surprise you.
Research conducted by leadership consultant Colin Price and his team at Heidrick & Struggles revealed that certain large businesses (dubbed by Price, "super-accelerator" companies) have the ability to quickly react as circumstances change. However, the research also revealed that there are 13 drag factors that can sap the agility--and success--out of any company.
Here are the 13 drag factors that must absolutely be avoided to keep your business moving at top speed as you mobilize, execute, and transform to achieve maximum agility.
1. Internal focus
Instead of setting your sights on the market or the reactions of customers, your company focuses solely on itself and its own mechanisms.
2. Fatigue
Starting projects is easy. Finishing them, however, is a totally different story. Burning out from exhaustion before you reach the finish line can be a chronic problem that will impair smooth movement.
3. Confusion
Ensuring that everyone has one end goal in common--and similar routes to getting there--allows you to move in a more coordinated fashion.
4. Complexity
In spite of what we may think, less is often more. For best results, keep things simple, streamlined, and easy to do.
5. Unclear accountability
Focusing on effort is important, but keep in mind that outcomes are ultimately what matter. Clear up each person's responsibilities and make sure they deliver consistently.
6. Skills gap
Keep your best and brightest stars shining bright, even passing on their skills to others.
7. Fear
Being afraid to take risks prevents your company from seizing valuable opportunities, instead producing stagnation and outdated products.
8. Complacency
There's nothing worse for progress than accepting mediocrity, taking excessive time to cull underperforming talent, and beating around the bush.
9. Competition
The lack of trust that naturally develops in overly competitive work environments prevent us from fully collaborating to attain maximum efficiency.
10. Hindsight
While it's important to learn from your mistakes, the past is not the only place to look for answers--in fact the future which awaits is equally as valuable.
11. Immunity
Going hand-in-hand with a fear of risk-taking, excessive immunity prevents us from accessing the top speed available to us.
12. Inflexibility
An inability to adapt to dynamic shifts in the workplace is definitely a problem for any company. We must learn from our mistakes quickly and adapt in order to move forward without slowing.
13. Frailty
If you happen to fall down, simply get back up. Too much frailty prevents us from recovering from setbacks effectively and without much thought. Stay strong--and zip along.
