What if… your business coach helped you leap forward every time you put your foot on the gas?

In his new book Predictable Success, Les McKeown quotes Jeff Immelt, CEO of GE who said: “When you put your foot on the gas in this company, the car goes forward.” Les McKeown observes: “While this might sound like a vacuous truism, the reality is that leaders of most organisations can’t say such things.”

As an executive coach I find one of the reasons why most organisations, companies, divisions, departments and teams don’t leap forward is because they are weighed down with complexity that grows simultaneously with the business. As a result the major victim is decision making. In complex organisations making and executing decisions is harder and far more time consuming than in simple ones. 

Providing a new structure and systematic process for decision making and implementation is central to enabling a business to leap forward.  At the heart of this process is the organisation chart which, in many businesses, traditionally combines aspirational representation of key roles and a declaration of seniority. Typically this gives little indication of how the business is really controlled. 

Redesigning the organisational chart to reflect operational reality is a crucial first step in giving a business some momentum. The organisational chart must reflect the real-world structure necessary to manage organisation and critical decision making. 

• Does the organisational structure need three sales managers on the same level, or is there a genuine need for a sales director? 
• Is the founder/owner of the business on the chart as the CEO when in reality they act more as chairman or chief operating officer?
• If so what is the implication? Do you need a CEO or should an operations manager take over? 

These questions need to be asked all the way through the organisation 

• Is the operations manager acting as a warehouse manager or vice versa?
• Is the team leader more of an operator, or the other way around?   

If so then the structure should be redrawn to reflect this reality. To help guide this process through all its various stages, separate the position from the people and concentrate on the position. To achieve sustained success your organisation needs certain key positions to be filled with the right people who can genuinely fulfil those positions, through implementing vital decisions. The position should not be dependent on the person.

If you would like more information on this you can also email me richard.bosworth@whatifspecialist.com, follow @richardwhatif on Twitter and find me on LinkedIn under Richard Bosworth.