Matching growth with infrastructure

Working in a high change and fast moving business environment creates lots of challenges. Long term becomes one and two years out. Short term is today, or less. How can a company successfully navigate and, with apologies to C.S. Lewis, "keep the ships from bumping into each other" or worse yet "keep the ships headed toward the right shore?" Our company is changing very quickly and we must change at the same pace or we could be seriously impacted. The question is, where do we draw the line between not enough planning for growth vs. too much?

The simple answer seems to be to keep one eye on the bow, one eye somewhere between the bow and the horizon, and two ears open all the time.

If a company is constantly looking at the now - that is, not being proactive, not investing in strategy, not looking at current and future customers and environments - it is likely to strike a rock because they didn't see it coming, or reach an undesired shore because they were more worried about the waves than navigation. How is this worked out practically? One way is to have a clear focus on execution and results (measurement) instead of assuming that all the ships are in order and heading along the same course. Another way is to reward forward looking activity, and yet another is to be engaged in redefining the future by being a leader in the community in which it operates.

Another problem is when companies make mistakes but then don't change to adapt or assume that it won't happen again. In the case of JetBlue, when confronted by severe weather and trip cancellations, they experienced difficulty and didn't commit to learn from it. They didn't start moving soon like their competitors were, presumably because of some naivety or egoism that prevented them from seeing the rock through the waves or because they thought the ship was in order when, in fact, it wasn't. I see this worked out in clear accountability of management, strong leaders that can discern the context of a situation and act quickly, and an organization that's "steerable." If the ship's rudder is in disrepair, how can it be suddenly turned? This involves not only IT infrastructure, but business process maturity, and all aspects of the business.

This brings us to the idea of keeping the ship in order. That would be worked out with such practical steps as clear goal based accountability, a commitment to learning and quality, and a business environment where individuals and teams can try, fail, and not be condemned or shut down. They would instead be coached, trained, and given clear direction. This ship maintenance involves individuals as well as processes, departments, and partnerships with other ships to do what this ship may be ill suited to do.

Back to the question at hand, how do we know where to draw the line? The answer? 42, of course. (Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy Fans unite!). For us, when we see things around us turning downward, that means it's time for new releases, more investment in people and the customer, and in general, a "leaning in" instead of a "leaning back." The typical response to economic downturn or upswing in customer growth is to get comfortable or knuckedown; either out of fear or complacency. Instead we must "lean in" and take an active role in moving forward, an active role in leaving the past behind and embracing the change. We must look ahead and not too long at where we are or where we were. There are clearly elements of all perspectives that are necessary, but if we lean toward the future with a good grasp on today, we will be better prepared to weather the storms that come and turn them into powerful winds that drive us even more quickly and with more power toward our promised land.