“Many of life’s failures are men who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up.”
Thomas Edison (1847 – 1931)
Deaf American inventor, scientist and businessman,
developer of the phonograph, the motion picture camera, and the electric light bulb
Washington dithering, favoritism, and power grabs are crushing the American marketplace. The question is: Can it survive?
All markets possess a natural amount of uncertainty. And it is from uncertainty that great business opportunities are born. Some uncertainty, however, is unnecessary; creating risk without proportionate reward. Fully avoidable, unnecessary uncertainty arises from the efforts of those who would seek to manipulate and/or control the marketplace to advantage some and punish others. It is not an attempt to bring fairness to the market through regulation, as in the case of monopolies, but rather to garner personal power by changing the rules of an equitable game after it has already started.
“By pursuing his own interest (the individual) frequently promotes that of the society more effectually than when he really intends to promote it. I have never known much good done by those who affected to trade for the public good.”
Adam Smith (1723 – 1790)
author of The Wealth of Nations
and the father of modern economics
Who creates unnecessary uncertainty? Sometimes it results from the market turmoil created by the manipulations of a few such as the grab for wealth by former Enron CEO Ken Lay. At other times, it is born of the power grabs and indecision of politicians – Federal, State, and local from both parties.
Today’s marketplace is stifled under the tremendous weight of unnecessary uncertainty created by the lawmakers in Washington D.C. as they vie for power behind closed doors and procrastinate in decision-making. Marketplace uncertainties resulting from the continuous and unscrupulous redirections, inaccurate information, and dithering of politicians include:
Going forward, we’ll examine the areas of unnecessary uncertainty; calling out the policies, practices, and perpetrators driving these conditions and their impact on the marketplace. But unlike other commentators who decry the unfairness of these events or focus on what should be done in Washington or what the masses should do to shape what is done in Washington, we’ll share with you our thoughts on how the StrategyDriven organization itself deals with these conditions in a way that positions it for long-term success. And we won’t be suggesting the next best stock pick.
We’ll keep the discussion fact-based, balanced, and business focused. As we share our thoughts with you, we hope you’ll share your thoughts with us – and challenge our thinking and perspective.
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This past Thanksgiving, my eight year-old-son convinced me to play Scrabble. Some members of my family love board games, but me… not so much. I usually just watch. However, with the spirit of the holiday swirling and the smell of pumpkin pie in the kitchen, a game of scrabble at the kitchen table oozed with twinges of Norman Rockwellness and seemed all too appropriate.
[wcm_restrict]I love learning from activities that are not designed as learning events. The parallels that you can draw between a game like scrabble and the game of life are important and timelessly relevant. For instance, I got to go first because I drew the letter with the highest value, G worth 3 points. By going first, and seeking a five-letter word, I’d also receive double the word score. The word I made from the random selection of letters I chose was exquisite: geode. I nearly gave myself a standing ovation for that little creation, which was result of luck, position and a little bit of geology that I learned as a science major at the University of Kentucky 20 years ago.
As the game progressed, I noticed my frustration of planning my next move, only to have a competitor use the position (letter) I chose on the board for their benefit. The roar of the crowd from my inaugural word play didn’t even matter now. Each turn was a new game. I learned quickly that I had to be ready to change my plan. I needed to look for a new word, and scout out a strategic location for the word each time it was my turn. Ultimately, I won the game!
Strategy- the business buzz word of the 21st century. Truly it is not a new concept but one that has gained a lot of press in business literature and education. The development of strategy is crucial to the success of business. However, without consistent surveillance of the environment you’re playing in, even the best strategic plans have little value. In strategic plans, course correction should be anticipated, if not expected and a process of correction can be a part of the plan. Who will make the final decision about change in strategy? Who will communicate the change to the organization? How will the change impact the expected outcome? These are the types of questions that should be considered before filing away the strategic plan and hitting the go button.
My scrabble-loving son taught me another lesson through his approach to the game. He very rarely started planning his next move until it was his turn. Of course this resulted in slow game play, which was frustrating to someone like me who is always thinking 12 steps ahead. However, his thinking was so calculated that his moves were almost always brilliant. And this one stands out: He scans the board for a place to play. After an agonizing full 2 minutes or more, he laid down two U’s and a T, and created the word FUTURE from the other letters that were already on the board. All of the adults sat stunned for several minutes. “How did you see that?” We asked him, incredulously. He responded, “Well, I had these two U’s, and I thought, what can I do with these things, and then I saw (the) future.”
Another lesson from scrabble… If you are willing to take your time, use your resources (even the U’s that seem to have little purpose) and see your world in a different way, you will create a brilliant future! Not a bad days learning from a well-worn game of Scrabble and an 8-year-old aficionado. Maybe I should get in the game more often. It’s definitely the only way to win… and learn.[/wcm_restrict][wcm_nonmember]
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About the Author
Shelli Stinson is the VP of Business Development at WealthBridge Connect. She brings experience from education, sales and marketing as well as project management. Most recently, Shelli was the employee wellness manager at Northern Kentucky University. In this position, she learned how much influence that leadership has on the physical, emotional and mental wellness of employees in the workplace. After graduating from NKU with a Masters degree in Executive Leadership and Organizational Change, she joined WealthBridge Connect. In this new role, she hopes to influence businesses to invest in their employees through comprehensive leadership development initiatives, promoting healthier and more productive workplaces- from the top down and the inside out.
Most organizations increase expenditure authority with each successively higher organizational level. Such budgetary constraints necessitate higher levels of approval for increasingly resource intensive projects; adding to the work required of lower level managers who need to ‘sell’ senior executives on their larger initiatives. Subsequently, circumvention of these often difficult to get authorizations may be sought.[wcm_restrict plans=”41140, 25542, 25653″]
One such circumvention method is to break-up a large project into several smaller, less resource-intensive initiatives. These less expensive projects can then be authorized by lower level managers, thus avoiding the time consuming ‘sales pitch’ needed for larger projects.
While adhering to the letter of company policy, this practice most certainly violates its spirit. While not all inclusive, the four lists below, Process-Based Warning Flags, Process Execution Warning Flags – Behaviors, Potential, Observable Results, and Potential Causes, are designed to help leaders to recognize whether this usurping of authority is going on within their organization. Only after a problem is recognized and its causes identified can the needed action be taken to move the organization toward improved performance.
Process-Based Warning Flags
Process Execution Warning Flags – Behaviors
Potential, Observable Results
Potential Causes
Final Thought…
Circumventing expenditure authorization limits can have dramaticly adverse impacts on the organization. This practice takes a degree of visibility and control of the organization’s direction away from senior leaders. Because the collection of small projects has a high aggregate cost, funding can be diverted from strategic initiatives; placing organizational goals achievement at risk. This is not to imply that senior managers should micro-manage every budget dollar but to simply assert that lower level managers must act ethically and in good faith within their given authority and not usurp that of senior leaders.[/wcm_restrict][wcm_nonmember plans=”41140, 25542, 25653″]
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“Even if you’re on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there.”
Will Rogers (1879 – 1935)
Oklahoma’s Favorite Son, Cherokee cowboy, comedian, humorist, social commentator, vaudeville performer and actor