Strategy & Risk

Keeping it Simple by Emphasising Purpose

Complexity abounds in modern organisations, including in their boards. Many organisations – of all sizes – are run as if they are bureaucracies, with lots of hierarchy and lots of organisational rules. Of course, some hierarchy and some rules can be appropriate and can help organisations achieve their missions. However, there is an increasing trend towards challenging bureaucracies from thought leaders such as Ricardo Semler of Brazilian company Semco; Frederic Laloux and his influential book Reinventing Organizations; and Yves Morieux of Boston Consulting Group and his six rules for simplifying organisations.

The Three-Wheel Framework of Customer-Centricity

We are now living in a world where customers have more choices than ever before and organisations face the challenge of distinguishing themselves from the dozens of nearly identical providers, products and services. Adopting a customer-centric approach is one approach to tackling this test for organisations. What is customer-centricity? Customer-centricity refers to the strategy of putting customers front and centre in the organisation’s strategy and activities. Customer-centric organisations are designed from the outside in: defining who the customer is, what they care about, and how they interact with the organisation.

How Innovation Can Help You Do More With Less 

There is probably not a single organisation in Australia that is trying to do less work with more resources. It simply doesn’t happen. On the flipside, thousands of organisations both in the public and private sectors are trying to do more with less – a much more challenging proposition. The role for innovation in solving this proposition is a significant one. However, many companies associate innovation solely with customer-facing, product or service innovations.

What to Look for During Customer-Centric Transformation

Government reforms in NDIS and Aged Care mean many for-purpose service providers must transform to become customer-centred organisations and many are struggling in this journey. To complete any successful business transformation, CEOs must have four foundations in place – the right language, leadership, people and business model. Whether your organisation is transitioning to a customer-centric model by deploying a new company-wide IT system, merging to provide a national footprint or trying to re-engineer your culture, these are all forms of business transformation.

Why Crisis Management is a Boardroom Responsibility

The single most important recent development in crisis management is the growing recognition that responsibility for this critical function lies absolutely with the board and top executives. While there surely is no shortage of agenda items jostling for board attention, there is ample evidence that leaders who ignore the new crisis management best practice are placing their organisation at serious risk. Most importantly, potential damage from a crisis applies to organisations of all types and all sizes.

Technology for Innovation and Development

Table of Contents Invest in technology Be a leader in technology Combine great people with great technology Source technology the market will embrace Look within your organisation Share Your Learnings Technology innovation can be absolutely critical for an organisation’s growth. How we harness its potential relies on identifying both the current obstacles and the future opportunities for business development. It’s about asking staff and customers what they need and identifying how things can be done differently or better.

Mitigating the Risk of Abuse

In the article The Importance of Being Heard: Using Consumer Analytics for Continual Improvement1 we discussed the importance of engaging with and listening to consumers and using consumer analytics to drive service improvement and responsiveness to clients. Building quality, responsiveness, consumer loyalty and consumers as brand ambassadors is critical within a consumer-driven environment. In this article, I will discuss how the same process can provide an important means to mitigate abuse, neglect and exploitation.

A Merger By Any Other Name Is Just As Sweet

‘Mergers’ are becoming a commonly discussed topic in the not-for-profit (NFP) sector, and with good reason – they have the potential for long-term benefits for all parties involved. Our experience has shown, however, that it is common for NFPs to feel apprehensive about the prospect of merging since: boards and working cultures must be responsive and cooperative towards a merger; a proposed merger could be resisted, poorly received or opposed due to the emotional investment of board members, staff, members, volunteers and funders; and a merger takes careful and considerable planning, time and money.

Scaling Impact Through Cross-Sector Partnerships: A Spotlight on Shared Value

Innovation and change is not the responsibility of one sector alone. Nor can the elements of innovation and change (funds, resources, motivation, creativity, scale) be neatly carved off to individual sectors in the hope they each play their role. By bridging sector boundaries, the osmosis of ideas and practices naturally gives rise to new models where individuals and communities can thrive without overtaxing social sector resources or extinguishing private sector profit.

What Does an Innovative Board Look Like – Value Creating

In an increasingly complex and uncertain world, change is happening faster and more often than ever before. As an example of major change in the Australian not-for-profit sector, the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) has transformed the way people with disabilities are supported, with the move away from the block funding of disability services by government towards a system in which individuals with a disability have a greater choice and control over the services they purchase.