MANAGING IN A NEW ERA OF INFORMATION

Doing business as usual has been shattered by connectivity. A new era of information transforms strategy, creates new competitive challenges and deconstructs borders, barriers and the meaning of bottom-line value. Doing business with enhanced connectivity means redefining marketing in terms of both richness and reach. In the Ògood old days,Ó focus was on either richness (developing information on customized products or services, tailored for and sold to a devoted audience) or reach (watered down information and products that sacrificed richness in favor of reaching a larger audiences). Today, marketing means BOTH simultaneously.

Internally, it means creating connectivity and standards to support the fluid, self-organizing flows of talent, technology and capital. Externally, connectivity supports collaborations, shared competencies, and common strategies. Traditional distinctions between internal hierarchy and external markets blur.

Success begins with changed cultural and managerial norms in terms of:

• Fluidity as information channels become less expensive to create and maintain, there will be greater soft-wiring of organizations - increasing the opportunities for employees to group into teams, participate in multiple projects simultaneously, and work out roles within a team without manager intervention.
• Flatness spans of control are proportional to reach and double while at the same time management layers are cut in half. Authority remains with radically reduced organizational tiers.
• Trust greater richness and reach imply greater symmetry of information. Reputation must substitute for formal mechanisms of review and control.

In the new age of connectivity, it is important to reassess, rethink and reapply what has worked in the past - in terms of what is happening today:

1. No business definition today will remotely resemble those valid five years from now.
2. Those with incumbents having the most to lose from deconstructing, and those who are also the least willing to recognize it will become extinct.
3. Waiting for a demonstration of benefits provides competitors with a key advantage ? time.
4. Leaders need to consider the full range of possible patterns of deconstruction, then reconstruct so as to develop a realistic strategy.
5. Both the value of winning and the cost of losing escalate over time.
6. It will always be most difficult to first see the way business gets done through a different lens, and then to act upon that insight.
7. Resist being skeptical and self-preserving, or fall victim to competition.
8. The best strategy is one that is generally right but depends upon continued organizational learning.
9. Incumbents' best assets should be assessed without undue emphasis on any historical baggage.
10. Incumbents are both invaluable and informed insurgents, if they choose to buy in to the future.

XML - EXstensible Markup Language allows concepts familiar from HTML to create a specialized system of marking up documents so that they better use internet tags and hyperlinks.

Distributed Computing - parceling out a complex problem, or one with daunting data, to millions of computers to solve via one personal computer.

CHOOSING AND BUILDING ORGANIZATION COMPETENCIES

In our experience, there are three cornerstones to an organization's success: competence in leadership, employees and infrastructure (support of continued competence).

There are five categories of behavioral competencies that are required for organizational success:

1. Task achievement required to perform a job well.
2. Relationship skills required to communicate and work well with others, including the ability to sublimate personal agendas for the greater good.
3. Inter-personal skills involving an understanding of how people think, feel, learn and develop.
4. Managerial skills relating to organizing, managing, supervising and developing people within an organization.
5. Leadership skills to motivate people within an organizational context.

How many models do you need for performance review, selection and development purposes? Some organizations use the same set of competencies e.g. results orientation, innovation and teamwork for all employees. Some have a different model for every position or for different levels. One way to combine the simplicity of universal models with the specificity of position models is to create three positional levels individual contributor, managerial and executive each with its own set of competency requirements.

Taking it further: Creating a Culture of Competence, Michael Zwell, John Wiley & Sons.

SHOULD NONPROFIT ORGANIZATIONS OPERATE LIKE A BUSINESS?

Nonprofit organizations have become increasingly responsible for providing services to the general public as a result of government and private sector retrenchment and increased interest in volunteerism. Today, the public relies upon nonprofits to provide many services and programs that have historically been the responsibility of government. As a result, nonprofits are continuously challenged to compete with other nonprofits and private businesses, both for scarce resources and for opportunities to present themselves as well run organizations.

Toward that end, many nonprofits have adopted the philosophy and methods of the private or business sector. There are some business practices that deserve emulation ... and others that do not.

Financial and accounting methods share widespread replication in nonprofit and business sector operations. Likewise, many legal and liability issues share common ground. However, the tendency to follow the latest Òmanagement guruÓ philosophy and practice is too often adopted by organizations in a hurry to become successful.

True ÒsuccessÓ for nonprofits comes with the realization that they should adopt some very basic business management practices. Long term success, however, rests in the realization that they have their own theoretical perspectives. The emergence of nonprofit degree and certification programs on major university campuses attests to the development of the nonprofit management thought, theory and research.

Unlike their counterparts in government and business, nonprofits have a considerable array of differences in their structure and missions. In addition, nonprofits cater to several stakeholders: board members, organization members, clients and financial donors.

Differences may be highlighted organizationally by the three C's, as should successful nonprofit management strategies:

Configuration

The degree of success in third sector organizations directly correlates to the type of organization and its functional makeup.

Competencies

• Effectiveness in nonprofit organizations is also tied to competency in at least seven primary areas:
• Planning: How frequently are plans developed and implemented?
• Evaluation: How is progress measured?
• Technology: How advanced are the information systems?
• Entrepreneurship: Can the organization support this type of effort?
• Politics: Is the organization able to defend its positions?
• Management: How competent is the director and management team?
• Communication: Are internal/external efforts successful?

Capabilities

At different stages of an organization's life cycle, it is conceivable that the potential for success increases or diminishes. Likewise, environmental issues such as the economic or social climate affect public sentiment for the organization and the degree to which it is able to change with the times and be effective and efficient. Legal and operational restrictions that are placed upon an organization can also affect its rate of progress.

The three C's represent pieces of a larger puzzle that explain the nonprofit dynamic. Dedicated nonprofit professionals and concerned citizens will continue to advance the study and management of nonprofits. For that advancement to occur, more management practices more specific to the third sector must emerge. Instead of totally embracing management practices that have worked for business and government, nonprofits must build on those best practices and then create their own.

Article by By Barbara Jackson, JFA Associates, Las Vegas, Nevada, 702.452.0333