…the question is how do you plan around this?
How does this factor into your business strategy?
Category: philosophy
Business Strategy: Asking “what next”?
Are you asking, “What next?” in your business? Is this part of your overall strategy?
Is it part of your battle rhythm?
This isn’t necessarily a ‘what does tomorrow look like?’ question. It’s more geared at ‘what’s next for my industry? for my business? are we positioned to compete in that model? are we positioned to innovate in that model?’
Quote of the Day: Jay Samit, Disrupt You! on ‘incremental innovation’
Incremental innovation is like walking on quicksand: it will keep you very busy but won’t get you very far.
– Jay Samit, Disrupt You!
These words stopped me in my proverbial tracks (I was sitting down).
What are you doing to innovate? Is innovation even on your business’ RADAR?
The eye cannot see what the mind does not know…
I heard the above words from a physician whom diagnosed inside thirty
seconds what we had been struggling to identify for nearly fifteen months with one of our children.
In this short timeframe, she observed several indicators that led her to an immediate diagnosis of a condition we did not know existed.
She was able to do this because she – her mind – had a working knowledge of the same.
This is one reason I never want to stop learning. There is always something more to learn, a new perspective to consider.
Toward that end, I am currently working my way through several of the books on this list.
Inc: 10 Powerful Books That Will Change How You See the World
Of frameworks and OODA loops
For some time, I’ve been thinking about the concept of a framework.
What do I mean by that?
We all view the world through different lenses; how we process what we see is the result of the framework that is the sum of our parts.
One part of my internal framework is the OODA loop. I’ve been studying this concept for some time and am working on incorporating it into my analysis of businesses. Here’s a sneak peek of sorts (what follows is a draft in continual update/edit mode):
The OODA Loop
First things first, what is OODA? It stands for Observe, Orient, Decide and Act. It is a conceptual action loop develop by Col. John Boyd, orginally applied to military fighter pilot tactics. The short of it is that Col Boyd believed that whomever could apply the OODA loop fastest won the fight. His ideas revolutionized fighter pilot tactics.
How does this apply to us here, in a business environment? To answer that, let’s talk about complexity economics theory.
This theory states that the business enviroment is an incredibly complex, continually evolving system, itself filled with incredibly complex and continually adapting organizations. As the economic landscape changes, so, too, do the organizations within. This precipitates changes within the system, which triggers adaptive change by the same organizations. This loop is now our operating environment.
How can a business thrive – much less survive – in this environment? By having a framework to view and act through.
Ok, why do we need a framework? The decision making part of our brain does not prioritize (Organized Mind). Rather, when we are faced with information and have to make one of the approximately 5,000 decisions we are presented with daily, we struggle to sort them.
To really operate, to operate effectively, we need a framework, a medium through which to prioritize our decision making. The OODA loop is such a framework.
The OODA Loop as generally conceived
Most view Col Boyd’s OODA loop as a series of concentric circles through which one steps in sequence.
That is, someone employing the loop would first Observe, then Orient, then Decide, then Act. While this works as a tactic, I believe it is not a comprehensive strategy.
The OODA Loop expanded into strategy
Drawing ability aside, this represents my view of Col Boyd’s OODA loop. I think it is meant to be a series of concentric, interlocking loops, in which the same person employing the concept does so in a 360 degree environment, constantly observing, orienting, deciding and acting. These also need not be sequential. It may be that new data is observed during the decision phase which requires additional observation or orientation.
That’s a great graphic, Rob, but what does this mean to my business?
Good question! Here’s a real word example. I am also a licensed Realtor® who spends a lot of time producing educational content, via my blogs at thehousingnetwork and robthompsonrealtor. As I generate content, I came to realize I was talking about inspection objections and resolutions, a phase a couple of weeks into a transaction, but I wasn’t discussing earnest money on a regular basis.
You could say as it applied to a communications strategy, my OODA loop looked like this:
That is, I was stepping through a series of conversations about these topics.
What was I missing here?
On any given day, I was communicating with only one set of potential clients.
What should I have been doing?
As a communications strategy, my OODA loop should have looked more like this:
Under this model, instead of a series of communications, the intent is to have related, parallel content/conversations, wherein we are addressing the needs and concerns of both novice and experienced clients.
Interested? Please let me know and stay tuned as I develop this article and concept further.
This post is open for comments.
Culture vs. strategy – what’s the difference?
It’s been said that “Culture eats strategy for breakfast” (Peter Drucker). What does this mean? Mr. Drucker is, in my humble opinion, stating that a positive corporate culture will take an organization places beyond what strategy can do.
What is culture? Texas A&M defines this concept as “a way of life of a group of people–the behaviors, beliefs, values, and symbols that they accept…”
What is strategy? Business Dictionary defines strategy as “a method or plan chosen to bring about a desired future, such as achievement of a goal or solution to a problem.”
I propose that as a leader, it be your strategy to develop a positive culture. If you build that culture, it will empower your people to take the organization places you alone cannot.
What’s your superpower?
I have been doing a lot of reading, to include Seth Godin’s Linchpin.
There is much food for thought in Mr. Godin’s books, from examining the system of production we work under today, to making ‘art’ (as he defines human interaction), to this concept of a superpower.
Godin suggests we have a ready answer when asked, “What do you do?” That answer is our ‘superpower.’
I’d ask you, What is your superpower?
I believe mine lies in connecting people to people and businesses to people.
Originally posted:
http://www.thehousingnetwork.com/2015/08/07/whats-your-superpower/
Can you turn social capital into startup funding?
I was asked this question recently by Twitter user @funding_tech and it has
had me thinking quite a bit today. About the nature of social media, social markets, social capital…what is this exactly and can you turn it into startup funding?
I propose that social capital, defined as:
“the collective value of all “social networks” [who people know] and the inclinations that arise from these networks to do things for each other [“norms of reciprocity”].
Source: Harvard Kennedy School
can be turned into startup funding.
Case in point: Facebook. Facebook is the powerhouse social media network across the globe, recently surpassing 1 billion users in a single day.
The recent earnings report highlights that there is value in a social network.
I’d expand this value a bit and posit that Facebook, Twitter, Instragram, etc., are social media banks unto themselves.
They are depositories of social capital and do pose significant value.
Stay tuned as I develop this out a bit further!
P.S. Please follow me on Twitter @rob_t_realtorco!
The effect we have on others is the most valuable currency we have. – Jim Carrey
