We live in what Stephen Covey calls a \"white water world, a world of interconne

Question

We live in what Stephen Covey calls a "white water world, a world of interconnections, fast pacing, constant change and systemic impatience.

Given that frame, what are some of big issues facing CEOs and Organizations. Which ones do you think are the most problematic in terms of impacting strategy?

Does your organization have a vision? In your experience, how well has your organization’s vision (assuming one is in place) been connected to the organizational strategy and addresses the issues CEOs face.

Explanation / Answer

As per Stephen Covey the world that we live in is like permanent white water - turbulent and impossible to predict correctly. It is always changing in a rapid way. In this context, the big issues being faced by several CEOs and organizations are: (i) what choices should be made to implement the applied principles in a dynamic and rapidly changing environment. (ii) Yet another issue is how to build and sustain relationships. Relationships are important for creating synergies, for developing businesses, and for collaborating. Rapid changes negatively affect relationships by reducing trust factor. (iii) Organizations also face an issue in the form of not knowing when to embrace the change. There are risks involved in embracing change early as well as in delaying the process.

The issue that is most problematic in terms of impacting strategy is the first one i.e. what choices should be made to implement the applied principles in a dynamic and rapidly changing environment. This is the most problematic because as the environment is rapidly changing, the applied principles never change. They are the only constant for an organization. The applied principles or the natural law is the core, a constant core. Thus, it is problematic as it will not allow for even minor alterations and changes to the core.

Yes, my organization has a vision. My organization is a consultancy firm and its vision statement is clear about where it wants to be in future. It is strongly connected to the firm's organizational strategy by outlining the purpose and value of the operations. It addresses some of the issues CEOs face by answering the following questions - when do we want to reach the determined future stage? How will we reach the future stage? Thus the vision helps us in making choices that should be taken in a dynamic world. These choices will be based on core principles and will help the organization sustain the various challenges.

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