"things can’t be rushed"

Já por várias vezes referi aqui no blogue o relato de Ackoff sobre a forma como diferentes pessoas olham para o futuro.

Receio que a maioria olha para o futuro como uma continuação do presente, a seta branca:

Num mundo estável o exercício pode funcionar com alguma eficácia. Contudo, num mundo em ebulição o mais provável é que esta abordagem nos traga surpresas negativas que desaguam em problemas. Problemas que requerem uma abordagem diferente.

Há dias encontrei num jornal a notícia de que uma empresa onde fiz um trabalho de índole operacional há cerca de 11 anos tinha fechado. Curioso, fui à procura do que tinha relatado no diagnóstico inicial. Isto aplica-se:

"The first trap is what we call the "present-forward mindset," the unchecked assumption that the company's existing business can simply be extended into the future. 

...

The current state of the business dominates the discussion. The time horizon is restricted to two or three years ahead. Inevitably, the plans that emerge focus largely on incrementally improving the core business. Resources are allocated within the existing structures of the business and the organization is caught in the straightjacket of the present.

...

A Future-Back Approach

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You start with destination in mind and then work backwards to determine the right highways, roads, and signposts.

Although you know roughly where you want to end up, you don't have to know all the details of the route when you start.

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• Anticipating the need for change and thoughtfully managing it. That creates far more value than just reacting to events as they unfold.
• Starting by discovering the unmet needs of customers. The jobs-to-be-done lens of finding strategic opportunities from the "outside-in," from the customer point of view, is a truer form of innovation than "inside-out," from a product point of view.
• Planning from the destination - or at least the vicinity of the destination - makes the journey more likely to get the desired outcome." (Trechos retirados de "A Future-Back Approach to Creating Your Growth Strategy" de Mark Johnson e Roy Davis.)

Ontem, ao ler o segundo capítulo de "Lead from the Future" de Mark Johnson e Josh Suskewicz ontem um tema relacionado com o que citei até agora, mas numa perspectiva diferente. Vamos primeiro ao que li:

"Future-back leaders are oriented to the big picture but attentive to its individual pixels. They are decisive when they need to be, but patient to find the best solutions —and willing to iterate for as long as necessary to do so. Importantly, they are also skilled communicators and storytellers, which is how they convince their own people and other constituents to embrace their envisioned future. Above all, they are flexible and adaptable, willing to continually adjust and reshape their visions in light of what they learn as they work with their teams to translate them into reality.

...

The discussion is guided by the future-back tenets we have described thus far, meaning that the focus is on what could be as opposed to what is. The purpose of the dialogues is as much to explore, imagine, and learn as to prove, confirm, or solidly decide. That means things can’t be rushed; these dialogues are very different than the typical two-hour strategy review, which frequently devolves into a race to get through a sixty-page PowerPoint deck."

Este "That means things can’t be rushed; these dialogues are very different than the typical two-hour strategy review" ficou a ressoar na minha mente.

Pensem nas empresas em sectores cada vez menos estáveis e que têm hora marcada para, uma vez por ano, pensar estratégia. A única coisa que pode resultar é "a armadilha da seta branca, o present-forward mindset".

É preciso paciência, são precisas iterações, é preciso explorar, imaginar, aprender. Isso não se compadece com o "the typical two-hour strategy review."

Dá para sentir arrepios...