tma world viewpoints 25: the critical4 capabilities for people development in the borderless...

The Critical4

Capabilities for

People Development

in the Borderless

Workplace

4

The Critical4 Capabilities for

People Development in the Borderless Workplace

This information is taken from TMA World’s upcoming e-book: The Borderless Workplace: The critical4 capabilities for the new world of work Written by Terence Brake, Director of Learning and Innovation



Four organizational capabilities stand out as being of

highest priority in the borderless workplace, where

digital technologies and multi-polar globalization drive

the business environment.



1

Organizational

Agility

2

Collaboration

3

Digital

Know-How

4

Adaptable

People



Research at MIT shows that

agile firms grow revenue 37

percent faster and generate 30

percent higher profits than non-

agile companies.

1 Organizational Agility

Based on research by both

McKinsey and The Economist

Intelligence Unit, 90 percent

of executives rank

organizational agility as

critical to business success.



The ability of an organization to

change rapidly in response to

changes in the environment,

e.g. the emergence of new

competitors, disruptive

technologies and sudden

changes in market conditions.

1 Organizational Agility



2 Collaboration

Technologies facilitate

collaboration, but they are

by no means sufficient.

Jim Whitehurst, CEO of Red Hat

“

”

…collaboration is a

culture, not a set of

tools.



The willingness and ability of

networks of people and teams

to manage complex problems,

make decisions and innovate

by working together across

internal and external

boundaries.

2 Collaboration



The story of Procter & Gamble (P&G) is telling.

In early 2000, the company’s share price had fallen nearly 50 percent, resulting in the loss of $85 billion in market capitalization.

Despite huge spending on R&D, only 35 percent of new products reached their financial objectives.

2 Collaboration



The new CEO, A.G. Lafley, was confident that collaboration was the key to the company’s future value. He wanted to make P&G the company that:

“Collaborates inside and out, better than any company in the world.”

A study showed that P&G’s most profitable innovations came from internal collaborations across business units or from external collaboration with researchers on the outside.

2 Collaboration



Twenty cross-functional ‘communities of practice’ were established within P&G and Lafley determined that 50 percent of P&G’s products, ideas and technologies would be developed externally.

By 2008, P&G had improved its R&D productivity by 60 percent and more than doubled its innovation success rate.

2 Collaboration



While face-to-face relationships

are, and always will be, important

in business, digital relationships

are increasing in significance,

digital relationships between

colleagues and also between the

business and customers, partners,

suppliers and distributors.

3 Digital Know-How

“ According to IBM:

”

The view that technology is primarily a driver of efficiency is outdated. CEOs now see technology as an enabler of collaboration & relationships – those essential connections that fuel creativity & innovation.

Leading Through Connections: Insights from the IBM Global Chief Executive Officer Study, 2012.



The traditional view has always

associated information technology

with efficiency and productivity,

but the real value lies in the

productive, value-added

relationships enabled by

technology.

3 Digital Know-How



“

”

The ability of people in an organization

to handle the uncertainties and

ambiguities that are inevitable when

vertical, horizontal, regional, national,

professional, functional and linguistic

boundaries are crossed. Research

points to managing cultural differences

and language barriers as being

particularly challenging.

4 Adaptable People

The single most common challenge, selected by 56% of executives polled, relates to the misunderstandings that emerge as a result of cultural and language differences from teams operating globally. Managing Virtual Teams: Taking a More Strategic Approach. Economist Intelligence Unit, 2009.



Based on these critical organizational capabilities, four specific capabilities emerge for people development.

Read the up-coming e-book to learn more about the critical4 capabilities the individuals in your organization need to develop to

thrive in your organization.



People with the thinking and behavioral agility to produce high levels of performance in a competitive borderless organization

People with the mindsets and skills to manage complex problems, innovate and achieve shared goals

People with the adaptability to bridge and leverage differences between individuals and groups

People with the ability to perform alone and together across distances via technologies

Global

Working

Collaborative

Working

Virtual

Working

Cross-Cultural

Working

The critical4

4 4 4 4



To learn more about how we can help your organization,

please contact us at

[email protected]

or visit

http://www.tmaworld.com/training-solutions/