Going to sea, is a powerful metaphor for
business success.
Below is how we see each of the “7 ‘C’
Success Factors” in our integrated model distinguishing
ordinary organizations from extra-ordinary organizations.
Note the key business outcomes or benefits from harnessing
the potential of each success factor.
1. Course: Ship-wide alignment
to a common course Why it’s important: Organizations flounder
from lack of a clear vision, and they drift along for
want of unified alignment with that vision. “Course”
alignment is essential at all levels in the organisation
– vertically and horizontally -- from individual contributor
to CEO and between every person and the organisation
as a whole. Outcomes for business: A clear, common
and shared organisation-wide commitment to vision, purpose,
and mission.
2. Choice: Everyone acts
a ‘captain’ of their own ship Why it’s important: Organisations live
and die by the initiative, innovation and creative capacity
that flow from the proactive engagement of everyone,
everywhere within the business. “Choice” shifts individuals
from reactive stance to pro-active stance, from passive
voice to response-able voice, from trusting others to
trusting others and trusting self. Outcomes for business: A sense of engagement,
“captaincy” or total ‘self-response-ability’ throughout
the ranks of executives, leaders, managers and individual
contributors.
3. Courage: Go to sea despite
your fear, risk and do right things, right Why it’s important: Businesses, must
not only do things right, they must do right things.
“Courage” carries the day in crisis, floods work with
passion and purpose, and enables leaders and followers
to take the right risks and do the right things. It
takes great courage to be a great business. Key outcomes: Heightened values integrity
and willingness to take the right risks.
4. Capacity: Keep ship-shape and build
sea-worthiness in all four compass quadrants Why it’s important: Business is expanding
or contracting, no state of rest exists. “Capacity”
expands production capability by stretching the four
dimensions of health (body), learning (mind), culture
(emotion) and higher purpose (spirit). Growth requires
reaching beyond current limits, expending energy, then
resting and building overall sustaining rituals. Key outcomes: Business production capability
growth and personnel health, resilience, and sense of
purpose.
5. Companion: Get the right
crew onboard, in the right relationships Why it’s important: A business is the
sum of its people and the relationship between those
people. “Companion” means getting the right people into
the organisation, getting them into the position that
employs their gifts and then creating and sustaining
empowering, co-creative relationships. Key outcomes: A business with the right
people, doing the right work, with the right relationships.
6. Curiosity: Cast off,
explore new territory, learn and renew continuously Why it’s important: Continuous learning
and renewal keeps a business afloat in the sea of modern
change. “Curiosity” in a business drives continuous
learning, innovation and transformation in order to
adapt and expand the capacity to produce results. Key outcomes: An organisation engaged
in continuously renewing and re-defining itself
7. Compassion: Sail for
self and others Why it’s important: An organisation
with heart is an organisation people buy from, give
their best to and stay with. Building a business with
soul and heart is good business, a strong business and
a business that is extra-ordinay. Key outcomes: A business linked to
a higher purpose with a strategy to stay there.
