It is possible for people to have different reasons for setting up businesses. The same applies to small businesses or big corporations. Regardless of whatever reason(s) any business was established, the desire to achieve better result will always play out. Then, again, achieving better result to most organizations is characterized by increased in profitability. Desiring an increased in profitability is an acceptable proclivity for organizations as a result of the services being rendered and paid for. But, the harsh reality is that no organization can achieve increased profitability by desiring or wishing for it alone except by doing things differently.
After hearing for the first time that: “you don’t need to think more, you just need to think differently”, I had a different worldview about thinking. It made me to realize that we do not need to think more (haphazardly) just for thinking sake, we need to think differently with the result in mind – we need to think strategically. The same applies to organizations, to achieve better results, we may not necessarily do so many things for our customers in terms of quantity, but we need to begin to do things differently for them. We might just focus on doing one particular thing differently for them. The other time I was discussing with an executive whose company has spent so much money on transformation, and I realized one key thing that was lacking – attitudinal change. For an organization to think differently and achieve its transformation goals, attention must be paid to develop the right attitude of its workforce first and foremost. This is because one person with a wrong attitude can sabotage and make a mess of all the transformation effort. Yes, I know I am not writing about attitudinal change, but then right attitude is like a lubricant that will oil the wheels of “thinking differently”.
Unbelievably, and despite the fact that most organizations are doing the same thing year in year out, using the same business strategy and initiatives that have not worked, and yet they expect to have different and better results (that is impossible). With the stiff competition in the business world, if you keep doing your business the same way you have done it for five years; you will never even achieve the old results that you are used to, but rather below what you have been achieving. That goes to show that to desire improved results in all facets of business operations, we must have a paradigm shift, and that comes by thinking differently. The truth of the matter is that sometimes, we know why our organization is performing so badly, but we are stuck to the old ways of doing things – and we are not ready to try something new. All organizations that are stuck to the old ways of doing things that have not yielded them better results will end up becoming “Defenders of Decline” instead “Architect of the future”( example is Apple Inc. vs. others). Apple succeeded in becoming the “architect of the future” while others are busy defending the decline, little wonder Apple’s slogan is “Think Different”.
To paint a clearer picture of what thinking differently should mean to organizations, we need to realize that in our various organizations, there are strategies that are not working, marketing initiatives that are not producing the numbers, activities that are not worthwhile and generally things that are not working for the organization. Thinking differently starts when we begin to question the old ways of doings that that have not yielded expected results and begin to push the boundaries and think in new ways that lead to improved results. Thinking differently is akin to committing to make a difference. In order words, organizations that are thinking differently want to make a difference in the lives of their customers and employees. It is this committing to a make a difference that brings improved and sustainable results for the shareholders.
When we begin to think differently, we would realize that there is no just one way of doing things. Of course, it is a red signal to assume there is only one way of doing things. Employees must begin to ask optimal questions in order to have optimal answers. Questions like: why are we not achieving our desired results? Why are we not having enough customers to patronize our business? Why do our customers complain? Are there things we are not doing well? How can we be different from the competitors? The fact is that when we blend in to what others are doing, we may not be able to stand out with a different result. That means we need to be different in all areas of our business (we need to be perceived differently and better) and that is the only time we shall stand out as an organization of choice.
Points to ponder:
• As organizations, are we encouraging our people to think differently, to try out new ways of doing things, to approach tasks, issues from a different worldview? Or do we always want them to accept the norm and never to challenge the status quo even when it is obvious to do so?
• Do we believe that better and new results come when we do things differently?
• What have you done differently in your organization in the last one month that will make you stand out from the competitors?
Final note:
It is by thinking and doing things differently that our organization can stand out. Real organizational success and growth do not come as a surprise (or by wishful thinking), they come as a result of seeing what others have seen, but thinking in a different way. With the knowledge of the fact that we cannot solve tomorrow’s problem with today’s thinking, there is a need for all of us to think and do things differently on a daily basis – because what brings success today may not tomorrow.
Feel free and let me know if you would want to make strategic and systems thinking competence a driving force in your organization today.
I would be glad to help.
All to your success!
‘Uju Onwuzulike
