Mindset alignment - Do your leaders have the same vision?
Har lederne i din virksomhed samme idé om, hvilken retning, I løber i? Og her gælder reglen “hvis du er i tvivl, er du ikke i tvivl.”
This is actually not about AI, but about something that has helped me a lot in the growth of Paperflow: conducting what I like to call a "mindset alignment" with the leadership team at Paperflow. It may sound a little more like yoga than business, but it is a powerful tool. If there is no alignment in a leadership team, the hard work ends up as friction instead of progress. So by aligning everyone, conflicts and misunderstandings are avoided and the overall motivation and execution increases because the group's focus is much stronger. And who doesn't want that?
Coming up is a little inspiration as to how you can ensure this type of environment.
First, I'll bring us back on track- it is a little AI relevant afterall. Because when you get into a field as experimental as AI, it is more important than ever to be moving in the same direction and have a common vision for the future.
The Paperflow problem
Paperflow had grown as a company. Both in employees and turnover, but also in mentality. It reached a point where it was no longer garage entrepreneurship, where you try everything and take many chances. It had become clear which customers were worth investing in and how the product and the business had to develop in order to be able to deliver to those customers. It was time to focus and deliver.
This all sounds good. So where is the problem?
The problem is that reaching the point where sales and product are the main focus, inevitably requires a strategy change. It is not only crucial to get this strategy change right, but also that the entire company has the same understanding of the strategy. Ensuring everyone has the same understanding does not come from writing the strategy down. Each reader (if the strategy is even read) will read each their own version of the strategy. Therefore mindset alignment is needed.
Are we going in the same direction?
The point of a mindset alignment is to agree on which direction to take together and exactly what this means.
The exercise is kind of like a workshop, where the first step is identifying the existing challenges and opportunities that the company faces, as throughout the entire exercise, it is crucial that everyone agrees on this.
The next step - which is by far my favorite - is to agree on "The Desired State". Meaning, at a given point in the future, what do you want the company to look like? What do you see when you walk through the doors, what do the customers experience, and how do things work now? This state must be agreed upon, again, by everyone. The last step is about identifying and laying out a plan for the roadblocks and challenges the company will face whilst heading for the desired state.
Going through this process together as a leadership team is extremely rewarding. There can be almost no doubt about the direction and everyone is ready to execute. The next big challenge is of course to communicate this to the rest of the company, but once the leaders agree, it is within reach.
Need help?
The process is exciting, and as I said, it has helped me a lot. However, the process preferably needs a professional facilitator. Paperflow used Bo Nielsson from NIELSSON ORIGINAL and I can highly recommend Bo.
