Good Morning,
While at a board meeting last week, I heard someone say that they were having problems working with other organizations because they had gone into survival mode.
Survival Mode: you know the putting 110% focus on keeping a group alive. All attention is moved to NOW or tomorrow. Opportunities which lay beyond tomorrow are often ignored because they do not contribute to survival today. In a personal sense, the survival mode is akin to a ‘Last Ditch Effort’ a ‘Hail Mary’ Pass, all or nothing.
The changing of all focus from doing what is smart and long term to doing whatever can be done on the short term. It is like a flailing of arms and a flurry of activity which have little effect other than to keep an organization from being pulled into a growing whirlpool. Sadly, survival mode is mostly a trap, in and of itself. Taking a cue from Jim Collin’s “How the Mighty Fall” this last rally to save the organization is often too little too late.
Like the Hail Mary Pass, the amount of risk increases when caution is thrown to the wind and all energies are pumped into the saving of the organization. This can be seen as an extension of the one-shot get rich quick scheme. Instead of diligently working hard to build up the organization, people look for the faster gain, quickest win they can find and throw resources in on getting it. If most of those ‘get rich quick schemes’ fail on an average day, why would anyone think they are the solution in a desperate situation where the ship is going down?
Instead of looking at Survival mode where all attention diverts to what can save us now, we have to strengthen our resolve and work smarter and faster than before.
Working smart is always the best choice. This means using the tools at our disposal, goal setting, quality monitoring, strategy planning, risk assessments, etc. More focus needs to be placed on smart, step by step plans and activities, than grabbing at straws.
Part of the challenge is the anxiety and fear that fills the air as plans are tossed about and leadership tries to navigate the rough waters.
By keeping calm, and carefully, albeit quickly, putting together sound plans and then enacting them, changing course when necessary as the landscape changes, an organization in trouble will have more success in rectifying their situation than frantic scrambling to get something, anything, done and done now.
Survival Mode is a bad place to be. If you are forced there, remember that the managed and leadership tools which help strengthen organizations can still work to save a struggling organization.
Enjoy!
Sanford Berenberg
Sanford@berenberg.net
http://www.berenberg.net
http://sanfordberenberg.blogspot.com/
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