Chaotics by Philip Kotler and John A. Caslione

I was so pleased to read a brief just released by Economist Intelligence Unit http://www.eiu.com/site_info.asp?info_name=orgagility&page=noads&rf=0.  The brief mirrors our own Chaotics formula for success stressing organizational flexibility as key to navigating troubled waters.  Organisational agility: how business can survive and thrive in turbulent times examines the challenges and rewards of organisational agility, particularly in tough economic times. Their major findings are:

• Organisational agility is a core differentiator in today’s volatile business environment… 88% of global executives surveyed believe that organisational agility is critical for global business success. One-half of all chief executive officers and chief information officers polled agree that rapid decision-making and execution are not only important, but essential to a company’s competitive standing, particularly in these times of economic uncertainty.
• …Yet most companies admit they are not sufficiently flexible to compete successfully. Although the overwhelming majority of executives view organisational agility as a competitive necessity, actual business readiness is more mixed. More than one-quarter (27%) of respondents say that their organisation is at a competitive disadvantage because it is not agile enough to anticipate fundamental marketplace shifts.
• Internal barriers hamper agile change efforts. More than 80% of survey respondents have undertaken one or more change initiatives in order to improve agility over the past three years, yet 34% say they have failed to deliver the desired benefits. The main obstacles to progress are slow decision-making, conflicting departmental goals and priorities, risk-averse cultures and silo-based information.
• Technology can play an important supporting role in enabling organisations to become more agile. Technology should function as a change agent in the use and adoption of best-in-class knowledge-sharing processes, so companies can improve their use of critical data.

You can download the full report on the EIU website.  It is a worthwhile read and reinforces the principles we have outlined in our book.