Pamela S. Harper | ©2003, Cameo Publications

By Lisa Fahoury, CBC

In the quest for higher earnings and ever-greater market share, many organizations feel compelled to launch new quick-fire strategies to take advantage of whatever opportunity seems most promising at the moment.

These initiatives take on a variety of guises — from reorganization or an e-commerce launch to entering a new market or taking the company public.

But persistent problems on the front lines during implementation of major initiatives like these can be traced back to unresolved issues and faulty assumptions made at the C-level during the planning process, according to longtime Business Consultant Pamela Harper.

Harper outlines this common scenario in her book, Preventing Strategic Gridlock, that describes a world in which perception and reality too often don't exactly align. Common but mistaken assumptions on the part of senior management are frequently disconnected from organizational reality.

Left unaddressed, says Harper, they drive companies into what she calls "strategic gridlock" —the mysterious paralysis that occurs when persistent organizational problems conspire to snarl your business performance.

Though Harper's insights were put into book form a few years ago, they are proving remarkably timely based on our current economic climate, when many companies feel compelled to scramble for the "latest and greatest" tools to remain competitive.

Roadblocks to success

Could your company be a victim of strategic gridlock? Preventing Strategic Gridlock identifies the hidden roadblocks that prevent many organizations from moving forward.

These obstacles can include one-size-fits-all thinking, rapid-fire initiatives, faulty perceptions, even what Harper terms "management by lobotomy" — an over-reliance on cutbacks and reorganizations to address deeper issues.

A cure for the gridlock blues

The Power of Approachability uses the metaphor of the old-Preventing Strategic Gridlock outlines Harper's six-step methodology for sidestepping this organizational malady, based on the acronym UNLOCK:

Understand the full challenge. When was the last time you validated your assumptions about the challenges facing your company? Don't underestimate the crucial components that make up your particular reality.

Negotiate buy-in from key stakeholders. Taking this step prior to the planning phase can significantly reduce resistance and increase your chances for a workable plan.

Locate cultural advances and blockers. Remember, when formal and informal cultures clash, the informal culture will win every time.

Organize relevant priorities, goals, and action plans. Finding an appropriate starting point for launching your strategic plan increases the likelihood that you'll be able to carry it out and meet your objectives.

Communicate credibly. Using basic communication principles — suitability, frequency, consistency — will help you shape more effective, credible plans Keep adjusting. Just because a plan's on schedule doesn't mean all is well. Use regular checkpoints to determine if you need to adjust in ways big or small.

Tips from the trenches

Based on her 20 years as both an internal and external business consultant for high-performance organizations, Harper offers several insights for spotting and minimizing gridlock situations:

• Don't commit to a strategy until you have a full, accurate sense of your organizational reality. Anything else is a recipe for gridlock.
• There is always more than one path to success — choose the approach that meets your unique reality right now. And remember: how you introduce a plan is as important as what you introduce.
• Reorganization or cutbacks will not solve persistent financial or competitive problems when there's a dysfunctional business culture underneath.
• Don't succumb to "roller coaster" roadblock — the tendency to assume that introducing a rapid-fire series of new strategies and initiatives will move your organization forward.

Times are uncertain, absolutely. It becomes increasingly tempting to hammer out new strategies and initiatives in a "ready, fire, aim" approach. But rather than viewing the current business climate as a setback to be survived, look at it as a trigger for developing a new and better approach — one that will keep you clear of organizational gridlock for years to come.

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