The Six Imperatives®
Growth provides both opportunities and challenges. Based on our work with organizations over the years, we have identified the six people-related areas that have the greatest impact on a company’s ability to achieve and sustain high performance.
These areas are so important and have such a consistent impact on the success of growth that we refer to them as The Six Imperatives. To build a solid foundation for growth, leaders must pay attention to all six and understand how they work together to drive results.
Sharpen Focus
Clear vision creates a common purpose. As companies grow, it is necessary to cast and make sure everyone understands and is aligned around ‘vision next’ and the strategy for reaching the next level.
Calibrate Culture
You can’t leave culture to chance. As you grow, and your vision and strategy change, your culture needs to evolve to support your business strategy and help you reach your goals.
Strengthen Leadership
You can’t out scale your leadership. Strong leadership is the most foundational need during growth. As new executives are hired and new managers are promoted, it is both challenging and critical to maintain an aligned executive leadership team and strong people managers.
Elevate Talent
Your organization can’t outperform its talent. Growth demands higher organizational performance. Raising the bar on talent requires a constant commitment to developing existing talent, attracting the best new talent, and dealing with poor performers.
Align Structure
Structure follows strategy. Organizational structures should evolve to support the business strategy. Optimizing structure leads to more efficiency, better accountability and communication, clear spans of control, and more effective leadership.
Amplify Communication
Communication is the lifeblood of any organization. As you grow, it’s harder to keep everyone on the same page. Leaders must drive the sharing of knowledge, information, and feedback across the entire organization – in every direction.