Chaotic Structures and Success ( III )...

by David Bookout

To follow up on our last installment of Chaotic Structures and Success ( II ) and our original post Chaotic Structures and Success we promised to focus this installment on Scenario E.

Our situation is identical. Strategic alignment is off. The company has a business strategy, no market strategy, no brand strategy, and a chaotic communication strategy. Overall awareness in the community is weak. Interest in the company's offers are low, and management doesn't have a clear vision of the next essential steps needed to increase sales on a broad scale.

A 7 step plan is developed to produce strategic alignment and implementation begins. The company secures a multi million dollar order that had been in the works for some time, and begins hiring.

Part of the strategic implementation plan calls for elevating the company's web presence and beginning to take online orders for products and services. A new site is built.

New hires, experienced in and accountable for other sectors of the business, don't understand the companies market strategy and move to understand the strategy by building a relationship with the Marketing V.P. Together they discuss the market strategy and speculate about how the website might develop in the future.

The C.E.O., intent on increasing recent success, while mindful of the size of the gap by which he missed his revenue projection promise to the board enlists the help of everyone to design the future. In ensuing conversations he encourages his team to stick to commitments they can make within their own domains, while also encouraging them to share their experiences, speculate and make offers of help to others.

Our next installment will focus on the effects of these behaviors.