To say that we are living in uncertain times is an understatement. Never before has the rate of change been so swift and unrelenting.
Business Intelligence, a term that encompasses all the capabilities required to turn data into intelligence, has emboldened companies to strive for the ultimate goal: getting the right information to the right people at the right time through the right channel. The result is an information explosion.
New sources, channels, and applications are being created, automated, and accessed every day. This abundance of information and the new opportunities it creates places unprecedented pressure on companies to reexamine their organizational models.
Traditional models of operation and styles of management often lack the agility and flexibility to fully leverage these new opportunities.
This dilemma is not isolated to any one industry or geographic area. It affects companies in every industry around the globe. Most large companies have the desire to change. The typical approach is to start the process by reorganizing. The scenario is: Call a meeting; analyze the problem; assign responsibilities and accountabilities; and allocate resources to make the necessary changes. It was the old function-follows- form approach. When the need for change was occasional, this approach worked.
In today ’ s business environment, however, there are several obstacles to this approach. The difficulty arises from the enormous complexity of redesigning processes, management structures, and measurement systems to accommodate a continuously changing business climate. And all this must be done while continuing to operate the business.
Another challenge is the uncertainty inherent in the climate. The organizational models that worked in the past are not flexible enough. How does a business organize to an unknown business landscape? And then how does it continue to adapt as the landscape evolves? In other words, how can we allow form to follow function? The first step is to look at the way we define the organization. In some ways, the common definition does not fit our current landscape. For business, it implies a fixed entity made up of elements such as systems, standards, rules, and personnel designed to achieve a purpose or goal.
Organizational change was a term used to define the act of adjusting those elements to meet new business demands. This was adequate in an industrial economy. However, in today’ s service-oriented economy, it makes more sense to think of the organization as emergent. The organization that survives in the new business landscape will be flat, team-centered, and dynamic with a workforce that is self-reliant, internally motivated, and connected.
According to Fortune magazine, the organization will be composed of a vertiginous pattern of constantly changing teams, task forces, partnerships and other informal structures … teams variously composed of shop – floor workers, managers, technical experts, suppliers and customers will join together to do a job and then disband, with everyone going off to the next assignment. To gain some perspective on the acceleration of change, consider some early inventions and the pace at which they influenced local and global economies.
Historians tell us that the wheel was invented in one part of the world and used for hundreds of years before it gained universal acceptance. It took almost 100 years for the knowledge about the smelting of iron ore to move across one continent. Cultural traditions such as languages and social behaviors stayed localized for many centuries.
Compare that with a few decades ago when we landed on the moon. The knowledge of this historic achievement reached every point on the globe in 1.4 seconds. Today, when a new microchip is introduced, it gets implemented around the world within weeks. And of course, any new social or cultural idea can be transferred instantaneously through the Internet. Even the formation of life is being accelerated through genetic engineering.
The seemingly continuous creation, destruction, and evolution of organizational frameworks are best understood by exploring models in science and nature. When examining the underlying principles, there are many parallels to models in physics, biology (living systems, ecology, and evolution), and complexity theory. In an attempt to explain what we are experiencing — constant change, chaos, and unpredictability — the new scientific models challenge us to rethink how we view organizations and ourselves as leaders. ‘The New Science,’ a radical shift in our worldview, is replacing the image of organizations as machines with a living systems model that offers awe, creativity, and greater cosmological connection.”
Right now, scientists are debating two worldviews, one offered by classical physics and the other by quantum physics. In the quantum world, there is a question of whether there is more influence from the system or the individual. According to Wheatley’s interpretation of the quantum world, the answer is “ It depends. ” This speaks to the fluctuating nature of this new paradigm. “What is critical is the relationship created between the person and the setting. That relationship will always be different and will always evoke different potentialities.
It all depends on the players and the moment. This concept has powerful implications for how we structure and run our businesses. If the focus of a business is manufacturing with stable production cycles and markets, then control is advantageous if not essential.
However, in most Business Intelligence (BI) – intensive companies, the organizational structures are based on ever – changing products and markets. Instead of seeking control, adaptability becomes essential. If the company adopts a top – down, Newtonian style of management in all arenas, it cannot adapt quickly enough to changes in the market.
However, to see organizations from a quantum viewpoint, it is clear that new models, skills, and competencies are needed. Rather than telling people what to do, management will need to clearly communicate the purpose of the business and facilitate processes to achieve that purpose. Management will accomplish this through interactions via strong relationships. Each group or team will become its own entity as it creates a strategy to work toward the goal. The team, the department, the individual will reach its goals by birthing ideas, nurturing these ideas, and watching them grow. The loner or rugged individual will not have the same role in this new model. Instead, he or she will act like an unstable particle that destabilizes the structure for a while.
The new energy this creates will stimulate innovation and the need for the reevaluation of many assumptions. At this point, the need for clarity of language and effective facilitation are paramount. Relationships fuel the energy of the organization. These relationships are enabled through face – to – face contact as well as phone and Internet. However, with or without being conscious of it, employees have a relationship through the quantum field. If organizational leaders understand this fact and create an environment of connection and focus, the interconnectedness can be leveraged in very positive way.
Adaptability and resilience are crucial competencies for thriving in a dynamic global economy. Applying the new science principles to organizations with a focus on Business Intelligence provides a powerful framework for building adaptability. Because complex systems are so highly dependent on the flow of information, knowledge-driven organizations are uniquely poised to leverage the benefits of systems thinking. In the new science, the notion of information is intimately linked with the degree of complexity of a system.
