Is Operational Disciple Possible Without Knowing The "Why?'

If we don’t begin with an aspiration, we tend to reduce our trajectory to incremental change, long-term plans, and short-term techniques. Many organizations focus on “dashboards” and collections of metrics to gauge performance and effectiveness. These tend to measure good and important things. Yet, employees suffer a halting case of what is called “Inspirational Deficit Disorder” when we neglect to align these to a transcendent purpose.

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Everyone has a deep universal yearning for a life with meaning and purpose. When most of us stop to ponder purpose in our organizational context, we need to understand “why” we are doing what we do. If we’re clear on the organizational why, then everything we do becomes focused and aligned to the aspirational work that drives our mission. A familiar parable that drives this point is the story of the stonecutters:

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A man came across three stonecutters and asked them what they were doing. The first replied, “I am making a living.” The second kept on hammering while he said, “I am doing the best job of stonecutting in the entire county.” The third looked up with a visionary gleam in his eye and said, “I am building a cathedral.”

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This parable demonstrates if we don’t begin with an aspiration that points everyone to the end game, we become prone to miss the purpose that ought to drive our work. The third stonecutter, with a clear sense of purpose, knew what to do, where to do it, and how he was contributing, because he knew why the project was so important.

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Understanding the “why” provides the fuel for the vision. Marketing guru John Kotter argued that good vision serves three important functions:

1. By clarifying the general direction, it clarifies every decision.

2. It motivates people to act in the same direction.

3. It helps coordinate the detailed actions of all stakeholders in a fast and efficient way.

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The “Why” and “Vision” set the framework for achieving Operational Discipline – teams and teams of teams working toward the same purpose, individual behaviors pointing to unity, every team understanding the impact of their work on others, confidence in leadership support of their decisions, and achieving objectives with available resources.

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Organizational success hinges not only on individual brilliance but on collective cohesion and alignment. Yet, many organizations find themselves grappling with achieving operational discipline in three major categories: leadership, processes, and people. These three serves as the pathway to resolution for organizational discord.

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When you view your organization from the balcony, you will see the issues usually show up at the intersection of challenges that cross business units and depend on more than one business unit to resolve. They usually fall outside of existing management structures, meaning multiple managers must work together to arrive at a resolution. We call those “Grey Zones.”

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By understanding the why behind your efforts and embracing a clear vision, you can navigate these grey zones more effectively, fostering an environment where operational discipline thrives and organizational objectives are met with purpose and alignment.