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What business can learn from the military
24-Nov-2011
Many modern management books write dismissively of the so-called “command and control” style of leadership (except of course when Steve Jobs was doing the commanding), and infer that this so-called military style of leadership does not apply in the modern business environment.I wonder how familiar the authors are with how much the modern military has evolved – and how effectively they have overcome many of the challenges that business leaders are only just learning how to master. Here is our take, derived from a blog in 3 Star Leadership.
As we move from an industrial-based society to a knowledge-based society, it has become clearer that individual employees on the front lines require the autonomy to make their own decisions in order to achieve high performance and feel fully engaged.
In order for employees to make the good decisions however, the organization needs to have a clear strategy to begin with – a strategy that is well communicated throughout the organization, a coherent strategy that all staff are aligned to in terms of their individual strategic priorities.
Only when you have a well communicated, coherent strategy will employees have a clear context for their decision making and know the “right actions” to take; how to behave, what to say yes to, and what to say no to.
There are far too many variables which occur on a day to day basis for “orders” to apply to every situation. This applies to warfare as well as business. Top military organizations use what they call a "mission order" to drive strategic execution.
A mission order could be compared to a strategic priority that a business leader chooses for the quarter. It defines clearly the strategic objective that needs to be implemented - without specifying “how” it should be accomplished.
The US Marines describe it like this: "We leave the manner of accomplishing the mission to the subordinate, allowing them the freedom to take whatever steps deemed necessary based on the situation. The senior prescribes the method of execution only to the degree that is essential for coordination."
The military have learned that when clear strategic direction is given – along with appropriate equipment, training, mentoring and support - the results are increased productivity, morale, innovation, and agility.
- Do you provide clear strategic objectives for your people?
- Do you provide the appropriate equipment, training, mentoring and support?
- Do you let your people make decisions about “how” to accomplish the objectives?
- Do you measure progress every step of the way and hold them firmly accountable for results?
Elite military units seem to do a far better job than most businesses of getting this right.
Chief Operating Officer - Global Operations
RESULTS.com
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| Date | 21-May-2012 |
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