Three times this week I have dealt with clients who are having internal strategic conflict. Perhaps that is not surprising in our culture where everyone seems polarized about everything, and no one is wrong. The truth is that most decisions and rationale are based on emotions and experiences not facts. Here are a few scenarios:
- If internal teams see different solutions for the same problem, chances are they have different outcomes in mind or value different criteria. The answer is alignment to the strategic vision. It is the north star for internal decisions. If one doesn’t exist, or more likely is not clearly defined and understood by all, disagreements are much more common.
- What happens when some of the team enjoy a client who is direct and to the point while others find that off-putting? If the client is being reasonable, acting within scope, and focused on quality results, it is a professional relationship, not a personal one. Providers need to be able to work with a wide variety of people styles to be effective. That doesn’t mean offensive behaviors (name-calling, inappropriate behavior or similar) are to be tolerated. But work isn’t about making friends; it is about helping customers achieve their goals.
- Decision makers need to be cautious about bringing personal experiences to a professional decision. Our opinion is not the key variable. The impact on the company and those who work for it is. Do you have a ‘no dogs’ policy at the office because you had a bad experience with dogs as a child? Does your company still sell a product that has lost its fizzle because it used to do really well? Maybe you even helped create it. Times change, and so does the market. While we respect the past, we can’t afford for it to limit the future.
Typically, when there are issues of this nature, the first step is to gather facts. Defining the problem, gathering hard data, and evaluating options from multiple perspectives helps to put all stakeholders on the same page. People feel heard, they understand where the data leads, and can often end up on board with the decision.
InGrowthDNA™(see chart below), the first DNA strand we work on is Market Intelligence. Understanding what the market says is relevant matters. It trumps our knowledge and perspective curated from past events. The value of what is offered today can only be established by understanding what the target customer group is willing to pay. Data levels the playing field so all decision makers have access to the same information. Understanding how the market is evolving, how customers’ needs have changed, and what is shaping their perspective can generate insights into new opportunities, what is no longer relevant, and what it will take to be effective in the future against the competitive set, which helps create alignment with the management team. When this step is skipped, organizations have more conflict over budgets because priorities aren’t clear and functional areas work to improve their function rather than use their function to support the organizational strategy. They feel uncomfortable challenging the status quo because they lack confidence in new ideas and direction.
If your company is having internal conflict, ask whether your organization uses data to make decisions or defers to the opinions of the leaders. Good market intelligence leads to high confidence in bolder strategies. And once established, every organization ought to insist on at least an informal business case to demonstrate alignment to the goals and justify investments in the future, elevating their chance of success.
