By being clear about what the company does and its differentiator(s), the average individual change management curve gets shorter and individual morale/competence improves–all else the same. Since the average individual curve shortens and individual outcomes improve, the organizational change curve (aggregated curve) gets shorter and overall outcomes improve.

What makes business different is that a business is a going concern. What this means is that a business should–theoretically–last forever. But just like a human or your automobile, entropy is out to get your business. Without significant maintenance and substantive change through time, your business will fall apart and return to the stardust from whence it came. Therefore, change is a necessary condition for the success and survival of any business. Operating a business without a plan for how to deal with change–or imagining that change is not important–is akin to having a death wish. Left unattended the opposing forces of change and entropy will rip the organization apart.

In the boardroom, determining corporate purpose is a team sport that is driven from the office of the CEO with input from the senior executive team. Like its personal counterpart, a high level of human skill is required for the best results. Quiet egos, open ears, curious, agile minds, and courageous, yet compassionate voices are necessary conditions for success.

The concept of a management operating system has been around for years, but has encountered limitations on adoption as existing models focus primarily on structures, processes, and systems that work together. Our approach is different in that we’re purposefully recognizing the impact of philosophy, the human element of business, and specifically engineering the operating system to promote the movement of organizational culture toward high trust and high accountability.

There are three certainties in life: change, community support (a.k.a., taxes), and death. We should all spend the right amount of time educating ourselves and contemplating our relationship with each of these certainties. It’s important not to dwell on, or allow these conversations to overwhelm us. However, it’s equally important to engage and not stick our heads in the sand - blissfully wandering through life under the assumption that we are somehow immortal.

The process of getting to know yourself is difficult, but deeply satisfying. Self-reflection and personal planning exercises are two important tools to understand and employ on the journey toward greater self-awareness and enlightenment. In this muse, we’re going to take the promised deep dive into the concept of the personal A3.