Question:

My business is growing fast, and I am getting concerned our ability to adapt and keep up with this change. Do you have any recommendations for specific organizational innovations we can adopt that will allow us to remain fast, flexible, and responsive to our customers as we continue to grow?

Answer:

It’s a good thing that you recognize the need to prepare for organizational change now, before it overwhelms you and your employees. There is no doubt that the speed of business has increased over the past decade—in great part due to the explosion in communications technology such as email, the Internet, and mobile phones—and that many businesses are still reeling. However, there are a number of organizational innovations that you can embrace that will make your business more nimble and responsive, while improving the motivation and engagement of your employees.

In his book The SAIC Solution: How We Built an $8 Billion Employee-Owned Technology Company (John Wiley & Sons, 2007), Dr. J. Robert Beyster, founder of Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) discusses a number of such innovations, including:

• Put people first. Hire very smart people, encourage their entrepreneurial spirit, let them focus on customers, and reward them for their contributions.
• Give your employees freedom, but with strings attached. Free employees to pursue work they are passionate about, while being accountable for achieving the goals and standards you set for them.
• Share ownership. Those who contribute to the company should own it, and ownership should be commensurate with a person’s contribution and performance.
• Encourage participation in decision making. Not just contributing ideas to improve the company and the services it provides, but also allowing employees to make decisions that would put their ideas into action.
• Make everyone a salesperson. Some of your best salespeople may not work for your sales organization. Everyone in the company can and should keep his or her eyes open for new work, and they should be rewarded for their successes.
• Experiment constantly. No business is perfect, and any process or procedure can be improved. Be on the constant lookout for ways to improve your business, try new things, and actively engage your employees in the process..

For further information, you can contact Dr. Beyster at www.beyster.com