O “Mendelian executive” - a intencionalidade na busca de uma resposta (parte IV)

Parte I, parte II. e parte III.

"Mattis reads Roman writers like Marcus Aurelius, but he is no stoic. Decade after decade he is touring some front or another, starting a million affectionate conversations. “How’s it going?” “Living the dream, sir,” is how those conversations begin. He trusts his Marines enough to delegate authority down. He clearly expresses a commander’s intent in any situation and gives them latitude to adapt to circumstances. [Moi ici: Recordar a importância da "commander's intent" (aqui, aqui e aqui)]
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Love is a motivational state. It propels you. You want to make promises to the person or organization you love. Character is forged in the keeping of those promises. If, on the other hand, you are unable to love and be loved, you’re never going to be in a position to make commitments or live up to them. You’re never going to forge yourself into a person who can be relied upon.
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Much of the work is intellectual. He thought the second Iraq war was a crazy idea, but when he was ordered to command part of it, he started reading Xenophon and ancient books about warfare in Mesopotamia.
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“If you haven’t read hundreds of books, you are functionally illiterate, and you will be incompetent, because your personal experiences alone aren’t broad enough to sustain you,” Mattis and West write."[Moi ici: Daqui - "Aprendemos com o que reflectimos, com o que vemos/lemos e com o que experimentamos.]

Trechos retirados de "The Man Trump Wishes He Were"

O “Mendelian executive” - a variação, ou será variedade? (parte II)

Parte I.

E volto ao executivo Mendeliano.

"With regard to processes of variation, on occasion, our Mendelian executive will have ideas. These ideas may stem from personal aha moments, observations of others, and recommendations—high-priced or unsolicited—of others. Vacuums are generally not fertile settings for interesting insights. Thus, individual differences in strategy “variants” may reflect the distinctive prior and current contexts to which executives have been exposed. [Moi ici: Costumo dizer que não se formula uma estratégia a partir de uma folha em branco. Uma estratégia depende da experiência passada, uma estratégia é uma função do ADN] This may be exposure to particular sets of actual or potential customers, thought leaders from diverse fields, prior related businesses, and so on. As network theorists highlight, these links need not be based on one’s direct experience but may be indirect experiences mediated by other individuals with whom one is connected. [Moi ici: Aprendemos com o que reflectimos, com o que vemos/lemos e com o que experientamos. Recordar "Subir na escala da abstracção"]
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To an important degree, variants are a by-product of ongoing efforts to address issues of existing customers and solving associated technical and nontechnical challenges. [Moi ici: As variantes aparecem motivadas pela experiencia de viver o dia-a-dia e a vontade de resolver problemas que surgem] However, per the self-conscious guidance of such dynamics of our Mendelian executive, the identification of potential new domains for existing lines of development is not a matter of chance or happenstance. Schumpeter (1934) characterizes entrepreneurial action as creative recombination of products, technologies, and markets. The fact that these are “recombinations” is indicative that these entrepreneurial actions entail the movement into adjacent spaces—the market opportunities that might be pursued given the firm’s existing set of capabilities, its market position, and the competitive and market context that it faces. In considering such recombinations from the perspective of a Mendelian executive, it is important to recognize the intentionality underlying such efforts. There is a lookahead to alternative strategic opportunities. [Moi ici: Acredito que a diferença no desempenho das organizações dentro de um mesmo sector económico resulta da maior ou menor intencionalidade, da maior ou menor predisposição para testar alternativas ao status-quo, a par da qualidade intrinseca dessas alternativas]
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Experimentation, however, does not obviate the need for ex ante choices—a consideration that the literature tends to neglect. Not all candidate experiments can be carried out. The lean start-up approach takes an extreme view on this and postulates that only one experimental trial should be carried out at any moment. Real options approaches encourage a plurality of efforts and the subsequent culling of this potentially large set. However, options are not costless, and a firm will need to restrict itself up front to some modest set of possibilities. Thus, while the analytical distinction between ex ante cognitive bases of evaluation and ex post experimental approaches is quite important, even ex post experimental approaches require some degree of upfront assessment of appropriate initiatives."

O executivo Mendeliano não é um tipo acéfalo que anda aqui por ver andar os outros, procura não ser mais uma bóia, como referia Ortega y Gasset, procura não ser mais uma folha na corrente levada pelas circunstâncias, mas procura fazer a diferença.

Trechos retirados de "Mendel in the C-Suite: Design and the Evolution of Strategies" de Daniel A. Levinthal e publicado em 2017 por Strategy Science 2(4):282-287.

Amadores a jogar bilhar - uma doença

Nunca me esqueço da facilidade com que se governa sem olhar às consequências.

Desde o distante 2007 - “Nós não estudámos até ao fim todas as consequências das medidas que sugerimos”, até ao recente "Karma is a bitch!!! Ou os jogadores de bilhar amador no poder!", passando pelo 2014 - "o erro que desqualifica um político é o da ignorância das consequências" e o "Amadores a jogar bilhar" de 2016. O blogue tem muito mais postais sobre esta doença.

Hoje dou de caras com outro exemplo desta forma louca de governar:

• 21 de Agosto último - Salários do Estado podem subir com menos descontos para a ADSE
• 23 de Agosto último - ADSE não adoptou principais medidas de controlo de gastos

"Measuring what matters"

Voltar a Agosto de 2008 e a uma das frases mais importantes dos meus últimos 10 anos:

"the most important orders are the ones to which a company says 'no'."

Dizer não, implica ter um critério de escolha.

“It is our choices . . . that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities” (J. K. Rowling)

“Measuring what matters begins with the question: What is most important for the next three (or six, or twelve) months? Successful organizations focus on the handful of initiatives that can make a real difference, deferring less urgent ones. Their leaders commit to those choices in word and deed. By standing firmly behind a few top-line OKRs, they give their teams a compass and a baseline for assessment. (Wrong decisions can be corrected once results begin to roll in. Nondecisions—or hastily abandoned ones—teach us nothing.) What are our main priorities for the coming period? Where should people concentrate their efforts? An effective goal-setting system starts with disciplined thinking at the top, with leaders who invest the time and energy to choose what counts.”

 Na empresa desta reunião só pretendem sistematizar um conjunto de indicadores. Identificámos os clientes-alvo e o que procuram e valorizam. Daí seleccionámos um grupo de indicadores.


Fica a faltar ser puxado pelo futuro, fica a faltar deixar a postura do gestor para abraçar a do líder que já viu o futuro e quer puxar a empresa para lá. Uma coisa são indicadores para termos uma noção fundamentada se estamos a cumprir ou não os níveis de desempenho considerados normais. Outra coisa é mudar o status-quo.

Excertos de: Doerr, John. “Measure What Matters: How Google, Bono, and the Gates Foundation Rock the World with OKRs”. iBooks.

Sem escolhas não há estratégia

"Many strategy execution processes fail because the firm does not have something worth executing.
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One major reason for the lack of action is that “new strategies” are often not strategies at all. A real strategy involves a clear set of choices that define what the firm is going to do and what it’s not going to do. Many strategies fail to get implemented, despite the ample efforts of hard-working people, because they do not represent a set of clear choices.
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Execution involves change. Embrace it."

Trechos retirados de "Many Strategies Fail Because They’re Not Actually Strategies"

Contra o crescimento e pelo desemprego

A propósito de "Procurem pelos sacrificados", ontem à noite apareceu o tweet da TVI24 que mereceu logo o meu comentário:

Mas alguém está contra o crescimento? RT @tvi24pt: Silva Lopes foi «defensor do crescimento económico de Portugal»
— Carlos P da Cruz (@ccz1) April 3, 2015

Como não recordar aqueles políticos que dizem que a estratégia é "Reduzir o desemprego!"
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Acaso faz sentido uma estratégia para, deliberadamente, diminuir o crescimento económico de Portugal?
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Acaso faz sentido uma estratégia para, deliberadamente, aumentar o desemprego em Portugal?
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Então, lembrei-me desta regra de polegar de Roger Martin acerca da estratégia:

"The very essence of strategy is explicit, purposeful choice. Strategy is saying explicitly, proactively: "We're going to do these things and not those things for these reasons."
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The problem with a lot of strategies is that they are full of non-choices. Probably most of us have read more than a few so-called strategies that say something like, "Our strategy is to be customer centric." But is that really a choice?
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You only know that you've made a real strategic choice if you can say the opposite of what that choice is, and it's not stupid. So, think about 'customer centric.' The opposite would be what? We ignore our customers? How does that work? Can you point out many companies that succeed and make lots of money ignoring their customers? Well, then being customer centric is not a strategic choice.
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What happens too often is that cyclical planning overtakes strategy development.
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This is because setting strategy is an art form, but it comes with a lot of bureaucratic baggage, and often the baggage gets ahead of making the purposeful choices.
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I would argue that 90 percent of the strategic plans I've seen in my life are really more accurately described as budgets with prose. Lots of prose at the front end of a budget. In some sense, that's a better budget than simply a budget that has only numbers. But it's still a budget; it isn't a strategy."

A minha velha guerra sobre o que são objectivos e o que são consequências... o poder da obliquidade... até Aristóteles dizia que não era feliz aquele que vivia procurando a felicidade.

Trechos retirados de "Roger Martin's Unconventional Wisdom"

Sem desculpas

""I had no choice," actually means, "I had only one path that was easy in the moment."
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The agenda we invent and act on defines our organizations, our work, and the people we choose to become."

Trecho retirado de "Choices"

Objectivos versus consequências

"I think I read too much Aristotle along the way and to me he just seems smarter than anyone else I have ever read. What he argued about happiness has more direct relevance to shareholder value maximization than anything an economist has ever written. He maintained that happiness does not derive from its pursuit but rather is the inevitable consequence of leading a virtuous life.
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The same applies to corporations. If they make it their purpose to maximize shareholder value, shareholders are likely to suffer because that cravenness turns off customers, employees, and the world in general. If they make it their purpose to serve customers brilliantly, be a fabulous place to work, and contribute meaningfully to the communities in which they operate, chances are their shareholders will be very happy."

Eu não li Aristóteles mas há muito que penso isto:

• O lucro, tal como o emprego, não é um objectivo, é uma consequência! 
• Verdades inconvenientes???

Trecho retirado de "How to Win the Argument with Milton Friedman"

A inércia e o medo de fazer opções

"Two uncomfortable strategic truths face the vast majority of executives and companies – and probably you, too. First, you don’t have a powerful strategy. And second, you aren’t doing much about it.
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The widespread absence of a powerful strategy is clear from our recent study of 3,000 of the world’s largest companies, which finds that just 20 percent in that group create 90 percent of its total economic profit. The rest of the companies, more than 2,400, simply do not have a strategy that effectively outperforms the market.
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A second new McKinsey study delves into the question of what executives are doing about their strategic shortfall, and concludes that most are not doing enough.
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While they should increase investment in the parts of their business with the best shot at creating value and cut investment in business lines that are tapped out, they don’t. Instead they divvy up their corporate resources in the same way year after year, giving businesses, whether great or weak, essentially the same slice of corporate resources they had the year before."

Recordar esta figura

originalmente apresentada em "Não há almoços grátis: Há que optar"
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Estratégias híbridas são mais amorfas. Implicam menos riscos mas geram rentabilidades medíocres. E quando o dinheiro fica caro... tem de render mais!

Trechos retirados de "Get the Strategy You Need — Now"

Cuidado com as empresas que querem ser boas a tudo

"If you spend your life trying to be good at everything, you will never be great at anything. While our society encourages us to be well-rounded, this approach inadvertently breeds mediocrity. Perhaps the greatest misconception of all is that of the well-rounded leader.
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Organizations are quick to look for leaders who are great communicators, visionary thinkers, and who can also get things done and follow through. All of these attributes are desirable and necessary for an organization to succeed. But of all the leaders we have studied, we have yet to find one who has worldclass strength in all of these areas. Sure, many leaders can get by or are above average in several domains. But paradoxically, those who strive to be competent in all areas become the least effective leaders overall."
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"Without an awareness of your strengths, it's almost impossible for you to lead effectively. We all lead in very different ways, based on our talents and our limitations. Serious problems occur when we think we need to be exactly like the leaders we admire. Doing so takes us out of our natural element and practically eliminates our chances of success."
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Este trecho, retirado de Strengths Leadership Great Leaders, Teams, and Why People Follow" de Tom Rath e Barry Conchie, foi escrito a pensar nas pessoas, nos líderes.
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Pois bem, por mim, aplico-o na íntegra, também, às empresas. Cuidado com as empresas que querem ser boas a tudo, que querem ir a todas e servir a todos.
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Se calhar, não conseguem ser boas a nada.

Objectivo: Criar interdependências! (parte II)

Continuado daqui:
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Como se criam interdependências?
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Eis um artigo que exemplifica como se pode fazer batota: "Break the Rules the Way Zappos and Amazon Do":
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Como saboreio as palavras que se seguem:
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"What would you think of a business that identifies cost reduction opportunities but purposely does not follow through with the cuts? Or another that actually chooses to build excess capacity? Not long for this world, you might figure. Or perhaps they're luxury chains that can pass on their inefficiencies to customers who are used to paying a premium.
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Well, both guesses are off. Consider the following examples. The first is Zappos, which was recently acquired at a premium by Amazon, which happens to be our second example. Both companies seem to make a point of ignoring the "make it lean" dictum of the hour, and both are thriving, not in spite of these "inefficiencies" but because of them. What may look like costly mistakes are in both cases deliberate choices made by people who know how to manage their operations for the new retail environment."
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Estas escolhas são fundamentais!!!
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Este tipo de escolhas são aquelas que dividem, que custam, que obrigam a trade-offs, que são sacríficios. Ao fazerem estas escolhas podem oferecer um conjunto de experiências que uma faixa de clientes-alvo procura, aprecia e valoriza.
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Simultaneamente, quem segue os preceitos lean... cria uma organização mais adequada para servir outro tipo de clientes... mas não estes!!!
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"To gain and keep customers, you have to provide them with a unique and addictive experience.
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With Zappos, that experience is superior customer service, delivering on this promise of guaranteed long-term satisfaction. It's the unquestioned knowledge in the consumer's mind that she or he can for any reason, for a one-year period, with consummate ease and without shipping costs, return any purchase to get a full refund. And Amazon has turned its mammoth selection and super-rapid delivery into a unique experience. In these, and in the case of other leading retailers and manufacturers we've studied, the ability to manage for a changing reality is the element that will determine success or failure."

Fazer escolhas claras!!!

Parte I.

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Volto ao artigo da revista Business Strategy Review, publicado em 1999, da autoria de Constantinos Markides, intitulado "Six Principles of Breakthrough Strategy" para enfatizar uma característica das boas estratégias: a clareza:

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"Strategy Involves Making Clear Choices

Having developed a long list of strategic options, the firm has to decide what to actually do. This means that every idea needs to be evaluated and choices made on what to pursue and what not to pursue.

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Choosing is difficult. At the time of choosing nobody knows for sure whether a particular idea will work nor does anybody know if the choices made are really the most appropriate ones. One could reduce the uncertainty at this stage either by evaluating each idea in a rigorous way or by experimenting with the idea in a limited way to see if it works or not. However, it is crucial to understand that uncertainty can be reduced but not eliminated. No matter how much experimentation we carry out and no matter how much thinking goes into it, the time will come when the firm must decide one way or another. Choices have to be made and these choices may turn out to be wrong. Lack of certainty is no excuse for indecision.

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Not only must the firm choose what to do but it must also make clear what it will not do. The worst strategic mistake possible is to choose something but also "keep our options open" by doing other things as well." (Moi ici: receita para acabar atolado no pântano da indefinição do meio-termo)

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"Organizations which say one thing and then do another are those that have failed to make clear choices on what they will do and what they will not do with their strategy."

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Escolher, cortar, deixar de fora, focar, concentrar... tão difícil!

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Por isso é que as crises extremas, as burning-platforms, precipitam as situações e obrigam a tomar decisões com um sentido de urgência.

Escolhas difíceis

"Na Suécia, por exemplo, o primeiro-ministro recusou comprar a Saab à General Motors. Fredrik Reinfeldt considerou que o dinheiro dos contribuintes - "destinado à educação e à saúde" - não pode servir para tapar o buraco de uma empresa de carros. O facto de a Saab ser de origem sueca não lhe exaltou o patriotismo nem a veia demagógica. O excesso de oferta no mercado automóvel foi suficiente para o convencer de que seria mau negócio. É para isso que servem os políticos: fazer escolhas difíceis. Testado pela mesma realidade, Sócrates facilitou e falhou. Não é injustiça: o primeiro-ministro falhou e deixou o país num beco sem saída."
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Trecho retirado de "E agora, José?" publicado no i. Só não concordo com a inclusão do nome Sócrates. Podia ser MFL, ou Filipe Meneses, ou Passos Coelho; ou ... está no sangue normando. Que modelos mentais podem ter na sua mente? Onde trabalharam? Que experiências de vida têm? Alguma vez viveram longe do Orçamento de Estado?

Escolhas e consequências: Private Label?

Ainda esta semana mantive uma interessante conversa com alguém ligado ao sector do calçado acerca da decisão sobre o que produzir, onde competir.

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Ainda na quinta-feira, no meio de uma auditoria da qualidade, apesar do objectivo estar focado na conformidade, tropeço na mesma questão: satisfazer 10 encomendas de 200 euros cada ou 1 encomenda de 14 000 euros?

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Para quem continua a trabalhar para o Private Label e tem vontade, e sente capacidade para ir mais além e fazer coisas diferentes; e está disposto a investir para ter resultados daqui a 5 anos... talvez faça sentido ler este artigo "What the iPod tells us about Britain's economic future" e ver bem para onde vai o dinheiro.

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"although in trade statistics the Chinese export value for a unit of a 30GB video model in 2006 was about $150 (in other words for every iPod sold $150 went onto the Chinese exports ledger) Chinese producers really only “earned” around $4. China, you see, is really just the place where most of the other components that go inside the iPod are shipped and assembled. The remaining cash instead went to the US, Japan and a host of other countries (among which the UK is one) who made the parts that go inside. In other words, where the product is not necessarily where gets the lion’s share of the profits."

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Para quem está satisfeito com o servir o Private Label apenas... OK é uma decisão honesta e defensável.

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Mas lembrem-se de Sartre e Kierkegaard, depois assumam as consequências da decisão sem choradinhos.

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E lembrem-se o Private Label também pode ser interessante se, em vez de vender minutos se vender algum tipo de expertease.

As escolhas que fazemos e as suas consequências

Daniel Pink é autor de um livro sobre o qual já aqui escrevi várias vezes.

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Voltei a encontrá-lo no mês passado, num comentário a um caso, na revista Harvard Business Review. Na altura sublinhei uma frase que não me tem saído da cabeça:

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"To the extent that any nation has an advantage, it comes from the choices the country makes , not its citizens' inborn traits."

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Esta frase sintoniza-se perfeitamente com este artigo de opinião de João Miranda no DN de hoje "A crise portuguesa":

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"Estas debilidades da economia portuguesa não foram criadas pela crise internacional. Resultam de opções políticas feitas em Portugal pelos portugueses. Foram os portugueses que escolheram políticos com uma visão dirigista da economia.

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Os países da Europa de Leste optaram por impostos baixos e por uma política de laissez-faire. A Eslováquia, por exemplo, adoptou uma flat rate de 19%. A Lituânia tem um imposto sobre os lucros das empresas de 15% e a Letónia não cobra impostos sobre os lucros não distribuídos.

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Portugal optou por impostos mais elevados (25% sobre os lucros das empresas) e por programas politizados dirigidos por burocratas, como o sistema de projectos de interesse nacional e o choque tecnológico. Os portugueses só têm de se queixar das suas próprias opções."

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Este gráfico de João Miranda ilustra perfeitamente a evolução comparativa da economia portuguesa.