Author: Anderson MacGyver

Lisa Bruijnincx

The worlds of business and sports are more alike than you might think. Both are characterized by that continual search for improvement, innovation and excellency. Anderson MacGyver believes that the future is digital. Professional athletes inspire us to always be ready for that next step and create a digital transformation for our clients. That is why Anderson MacGyver is teaming up with Dutch row star Lisa Bruijnincx. We support Lisa in her journey towards the international top. Follow our updates on here to stay informed about this exciting collaboration, as Lisa rows towards her ultimate goal: the Olympic Games in Paris. 

Update: the Power of Data

Joost Doesburg, management consultant at Anderson MacGyver, meets up with international athlete Lisa Bruijnincx at the Anderson MacGyver headquarters to discuss the topic of data. Data has become a crucial aspect of sports and also comes in handy for the amateur. Getting insight into their daily activities helps the both of them to stay fit, especially during lockdown.

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Let’s face it, change is inevitable. As painfully demonstrated by COVID-19 over the past year, only those who manage to adapt have a chance to survive. Rituals, for example, recently decided to utilize store staff for home delivery of their luxury feel-good products upon nationally enforced closure of non-essential stores. Doing so ensured effective use of otherwise ‘wasted’ resources and demonstrated their adaptability in unprecedented times. 

With vaccination campaigns on the way, we are slowly starting to believe the crisis will come to an end soon. This is no reason to sit back and relax, however tempting it may be. If history is any indication, the next disruption is already waiting to knock on our doors and let us not underestimate the burden of the COVID aftermath that is coming our way as well. Rather than resisting the required change or trying to predict the unpredictable, organizations should ensure their adaptability to survive such disruptive events and spin the situation to gain some benefits by focusing on what is important, not just on what is urgent. In the final blog of this trilogy, we explore why organizations often fail to deal with a crisis successfully and explain how multimodality can help your survival.

Organizations often fail to capture the value of opportunities instigated by change

Capturing true, sustainable value of opportunities is often hindered by organizations being overly occupied with either the Shit of Yesterday (SOY)^[1]or the quick wins of tomorrow. Essential resources in terms of time, budget, and talent are wasted on such legacy or on initiatives with a short-term perspective, leaving too little capacity for what truly matters. As a result, in times of crisis or disruption, the organization lacks the force to adapt to the new circumstances. Take for example DHL, who are currently struggling to deliver packages on time, or even at all. Picnic, a Dutch online food retailer, is experiencing similar demand-supply issues resulting in fully booked delivery slots and ultimately customers seeking salvation at its competitors. Both companies are in over their heads right now. 

Dynamic capabilities enable organizations to respond adequately to change

The obvious lesson here is that organizations need to be prepared for disruption and be able to change. The question that remains is “How?”. Change requires capacity and thus capacity should ideally not be wasted on ‘SOY’ or legacy. One thing that survivors have in common is access to built-in dynamic capabilities^[2], enabling them to respond effectively to unforeseen external events. These organizations are able to make swift decisions, and seize opportunity the moment it rises, such as the example of Rituals. Of course, this hinges on the attitude of the organization’s leadership. The CEO of a large Dutch retailer, that was forced to close down during lockdown for being ‘non-essential’, recently expressed his disappointment in one of his ‘essential’ competitors on social media. In his opinion, the competitor abused his ‘essential’ status, i.e. the ability to remain open during lockdown, for offering non-essential products similar to the CEO’s for a discounted price. A lack of solidarity, according to the CEO. Rather than focussing all his efforts to find alternative ways to yield revenue, the CEO thus resorted to self-victimisation and pity. We expect this finger-pointing behaviour won’t take him very far.

Building robustness against disruptive events in the form of dynamic capabilities is, of course, not a simple task. Organizations need to adapt over and over again to survive. Take Nokia, for example, mostly known for its line of mobile devices such as the epic ‘3310’. Before focusing on mobile phones, however, Nokia’s activities ranged from rubber production, to telecommunications, to pulp processing. Changing market circumstances caused Nokia to narrow down her portfolio. A smart adaptation of their business, as they rapidly became market leader for several years. Their leadership was however disrupted by the introduction of Apple’s iPhone. Suspectedly due to poor strategy and lack of dynamic capabilities, Nokia failed to adapt to the changing consumer needs and slowly lost their share on the market of mobile devices. Admitting defeat, Nokia transformed to become primarily a network technology provider a few years ago and despite the challenges thrown at them over the years, still exists today. Constant adaptation is key to survival. 

Multimodality helps your organization to be ready for change

One way to work on your dynamic capabilities and be able to appropriately adapt yourself to the changing environment is by approaching your organization in a multimodal way. Multimodality^[3] is a granular approach to the organization of technology and data, based on the characteristics of your business activities. It helps to identify what activities your organization should focus its innovative abilities on, how it is likely subject to change and disruption, and subsequently how to organize yourself accordingly. Multimodality characterizes business activities in two dimensions: (1) whether the activity is set to generate customer value or to be cost efficient and (2) whether, for you, the activity is specific or generic, ergo done by your competitors as well.

Activities that aim to create customer value and distinguish you from others require constant change to maintain your competitive advantage. These are the activities most likely to be hit by disruption and at the same time are the ones that can enable your survival. A great example are the developments currently seen in the mortgage industry. Boosted by the lockdown and its subsequent inability to meet with clients in person, mortgage providers focused on quickly realizing an online environment for their clients to arrange and close mortgages, eliminating face-to-face contact and even the necessity for a broker himself. The hospitality industry is becoming increasingly inventive in finding new ways to generate revenue as well; many started offering holiday-themed snack and drinks boxes, coffee-to-go stalls are popping up like mushrooms, and new collaborations are forming to arrange city tours visiting various establishments that offer their food and beverages in takeaway form as part of the experience. All within the boundaries of the COVID regulations. Thus, in times of crisis, efforts should be focused on these customer-facing, value generating activities. Continuously innovating them and enabling new business models to meet the changing circumstances is key. 

The illustrations above comprise a simplified example for just one of the four modalities we acknowledge. It serves to provide some first insights in the multimodal way of thinking and its role to prepare your organization for disruption and change. Note that implementing the multimodal mindset in your organization does not happen overnight. If you are interested to learn the full story of our multimodal concepts or want to discover how it can benefit your organization, feel free to hook us up for a cup of coffee, no strings attached. Let’s make sure we are ready for the next crisis to come, together!

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^[1] The Day After Tomorrow by Peter Hinssen, 2017.

^[2] See the theory on Dynamic Capabilities from Teece et al., 1997: p. 515

^[3] If you are interested in the concept of a multimodal organization, please download our whitepaper: Organizing data and technology

Lisa Bruijnincx

The worlds of business and sports are more alike than you might think. Both are characterized by that continual search for improvement, innovation and excellency. Anderson MacGyver believes that the future is digital. Professional athletes inspire us to always be ready for that next step and create a digital transformation for our clients. That is why Anderson MacGyver is teaming up with Dutch row star Lisa Bruijnincx. We support Lisa in her journey towards the international top. Follow our updates on here to stay informed about this exciting collaboration, as Lisa rows towards her ultimate goal: the Olympic Games in Paris. 

Update: adapt, improvise and overcome

Simon Bloo, management consultant at Anderson MacGyver, and international athlete Lisa Bruijnincx have a digital meet-up and discuss some ways to adapt to the current lockdown. How do you stay productive working or training from home? Both Lisa and the consultants at Anderson MacGyver have found creative ways to stay fit and focussed. Turns out the kitchen is perfectly suited to get some training done. And the best way to keep the team spirit alive? By organizing a digital baking competition. “It ain’t stupid if it works.”

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How do you give direction to a relatively decentralized company from a central vision? How do you address divergent expectations regarding IT within the SPIE group and among employees? How do you stick to a long-term strategy in a highly pragmatic culture? Lieve Declercq, general director of SPIE Netherlands accomplishes it. The IT landscape overhaul is successfully linked to strategic and organizational challenges.

The Dutch branch of the international multi-technical service provider SPIE has grown rapidly over the past fifteen years. With a major takeover almost every year, about five thousand people currently work for the daughter of the eponymous and originally French parent company. For example Zuit, specialist in public lighting, was acquired in 2017.

“Growth is good, but the integration of systems has lagged” says the top woman who took office in May 2017. After her start, she faced an extensive transformation with four strategic spearheads: people first, house in order, innovation and growth. In that context, she encountered an outdated IT environment, that was not qualified to support the SPIE business towards the future.

Lieve Declercq: “Our landscape had more than 250 applications, a lot of shadow IT, hack-string interfaces, plenty of manual work and multiple interpretations of the outdated core system, which was used by people and departments in various ways.”

Industry dynamics

At SPIE Netherlands, there was also the question of how the company would develop further towards customers and the market. “Will we continue as a ‘jobber’, delivering purely labor according to the principle of hourly rate times the number of hours? Or is there more to it? For example, some of our customers were interested in smart asset management, predictive maintenance, and managed service contracts. To be able to deliver this, the information provision had to be improved” according to the general director.

In 2018 it was decided to put the technological basis in order, to create value by providing new or different services. Another consideration was that, as a large organization, SPIE still operated as a collection of many small, independently operating companies.

“Different management of work processes was also needed. No longer individually, but from a central and standardized point of view.” However, the old core system, is mainly transactional and did not fit in at all.

Complete programme

It soon became clear to Declercq that the approach requires a complete programme, and not just a series of projects. In addition to selecting the right core application, a large change component is attached to especially the implementation of the application. “We were not sure that we ourselves had the necessary competencies within the company.” Coincidentally, in a former company were Declercq had the role of CEO, she had met a good external program manager: Niels van Loon. “From the start Niels indicated that he could not do this job alone and introduced Anderson MacGyver.”

Rational view

“Together with Anderson MacGyver, an analysis was made in 2018 based on the Operating Model Canvas” she continues. “This immediately resulted in good conversations about our activities, organizational structure and the associated IT support ultimately summarized in clear pictures and actions.”

This rational view of the entire organization helps enormously in determining the course and decision-making. Analysis shows that SPIE Netherlands is characterized by overlapping roles and systems and is struggling with contaminated databases. The core system lacks the required functionality and the capability to integrate acquired companies. The lack of a group solution leads to revenue leakage, faulty processes, and high failure costs.

Four workstreams

Lieve Declercq: “The change program consists of four workstreams: selection of the new core application, cleaning and integration of the databases, approach to peripheral systems, and professionalization of the internal IT department. Until now, IT has mainly focused on service and support and must now contribute to the system implementation and strategic development.”

Seen from the perspective of the international SPIE Group, this is a decentralized implementation. Nevertheless, the experiences from the various countries and divisions are taken along. After all, application selections have also been started abroad, which can lead to possible purchasing benefits. Ultimately, IFS Apps 10, a solution of software vendor IFS, was chosen in the Netherlands. “A company and solution we had not heard of before.”

“Anderson MacGyver, thanks in particular to Onno Wasser, has played a major role in the selection, negotiation, pricing, and conditions surrounding IFS” Declercq continues. “We as SPIE could never have done that ourselves. Fabian Haijenga has made a smart architectural plan. Lisa Folkertsma and Else de Meijer guided the first Agile migrations in such a way that we could take it over ourselves for the remaining migrations. We frequently discuss the progress with Gerard Wijers.”

Keeping track

Since the first proof of concept in 2019, SPIE Netherlands is at about twenty percent of the system implementation. In parallel, the functionality is being further developed and business units are switching step by step to the new application.

“As the implementation is gradually being handed over to our own people, Niels and the people at Anderson MacGyver sometimes have to jump over their own shadow. The transition from hired teams to the mostly newly appointed managers is progressing smoothly and faster than we initially anticipated.”

Sticking to the adopted strategy is not an issue for Lieve Declercq personally: “I am naturally steadfast. As SPIE Netherlands, we are also very committed to the strategic objective. You always encounter problems, but where there is a will, there is a way. And sometimes you have to adjust a bit.”

No Valhalla

Challenges play in four different areas. After all, IFS cannot immediately deliver all promised functionality. Furthermore, the first migration was underestimated in the pilot phase, which required the necessary aftercare. Cleaning up the databases also turned out to be more difficult than expected.

The first roll-out was deliberately based on a minimum viable product, so users did not go straight from the old world to Valhalla. “Gradually, people notice that it works, and they automatically become enthusiastic” according to the general manager. “The corona crisis has no major impact on turnaround time. Training and implementation are mainly executed digital.”

Phenomenal commitment

Lieve Declercq is very pleased with Anderson MacGyver‘s contribution. “The commitment of the aforementioned stakeholders is phenomenal. They are external and at the same time internal. Sometimes it collides, but that is what characterizes any good relationship. They never compromise on quality and understand that we will not be connected forever. That is very neat.”

Interested in Anderson MacGyver’s solutions for digital services?

Contact our specialists! We are happy to assist you.

Lisa Bruijnincx

The worlds of business and sports are more alike than you might think. Both are characterized by that continual search for improvement, innovation and excellency. Anderson MacGyver believes that the future is digital. Professional athletes inspire us to always be ready for that next step and create a digital transformation for our clients. 

That is why Anderson MacGyver is teaming up with Dutch row star Lisa Bruijnincx. We support Lisa in her journey towards the international top. Follow our updates on here to stay informed about this exciting collaboration, as Lisa rows towards her ultimate goal: the Olympic Games in Paris. 

Update

Bart Nieuwenhuijs, newest Anderson MacGyver management consultant and international athlete Lisa Bruijnincx have a digital meet-up and discuss some ways of preparation towards international success.

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Anyone considering purchasing or developing IT services and products should focus on their own organization and that of the supplier. The starting point is determining the business activity to be supported. The right IT solution and partnership – an optimal mix of contract and relationship – will automatically follow in a few logical next steps.

Successfully applying technology and data within organizations requires awareness of their own wishes and requirements, but also a broad internal dialogue between business and IT. Insight and consensus are required to be able to consciously choose, for example, a standard product or a customized solution that distinguishes you from the competition. Five practical steps help to do this more consciously.

Five steps leading to the right governance

1. Determine ​​what business activity the IT solution will support. Is it about something generic or specific? Do you distinguish by value or by price? By making this tangible per activity, as business and IT, you have already made some progress.
2. Develop insight into the possible technological support of the business activity. Is a general IT solution sufficient, is a sector-specific solution required, or can you distinguish yourself with IT? Then you look for a corresponding technology.
3. If you know which solution you are looking for, you focus on the service. What does the ideal service model look like? Which activities do you want to carry out yourself, and which do you want to outsource to one or more suppliers? Do you only want to purchase software licenses or a complete end-to-end service? Or maybe something in between?
4. Based on these insights, you look around the market to see what IT service providers offer. What is their service proposition for you as a customer? Does this meet your needs? Then, choose for a product (software), convenience (implementation by the partner), developing the necessary skills (coordinating yourself) or exclusivity (high-quality and customer-oriented services).
5. Finally, each service type needs its own specific governance model: control (if you opt for a product), cooperation (convenience), coordination (developing skills), and collaboration (exclusivity). In the case of collaboration, coordination is partly the responsibility of the supplier.

Crucial elements: how to avoid making the wrong choices

This step-by-step plan contains some crucial elements. Primarily, focusing on the activity to be supported, but also steps three and four: determining the relationship between the desired service model and its actual availability on the market.

For example, in some cases, suppliers are unable to provide the requested convenience, and the company will have to develop skills itself. Knowledge of the strategy of the market party is also important: if the emphasis is on providing standard solutions, then this may not be the optimal partner for an IT need that distinguishes you from competition. Often multiple parties play a role in implementations.

Optimize existing IT solutions

The step-by-step plan can also help to review existing IT solutions and parties that supply them. Review the current and desired governance of the IT services. After all, intentions, wishes and objectives can change, and with them the optimal technological support.

Anderson MacGyver wrote the recent white paper Governing Market Services, including the method described above. For CxOs who value the right technology choices.

Digital technologies are generating all kinds of opportunities in virtually every sector. At the same time, organizations are faced with the challenge of adequately responding to changing customer needs, new profit models and heightened competition. Anderson MacGyver bases success in the digital world on three pillars: clarity in the digital direction and agenda, the right organization structure and appropriate technology. Data is the fourth element that flows through each of these pillars.

According to Anderson MacGyver, digitization only makes sense when the envisioned changes are in line with the business activities, opportunities and ambitions of the organization. “Simple but well-thought out concepts and models help companies and their directors to effectively navigate through all the digital possibilities,” says co-founder Gerard Wijers. “That is what Anderson MacGyver does and how we stand out from the rest. This is how we make it easier for our customers to make the right choices.”

Reassessment

Wijers cites the example of the Dutch company Allinq which specializes in building and maintaining large telecom infrastructures. “The changing market required a thorough reassessment. To prepare Allinq for the future, we made a blueprint of the overall organization; its business, culture, management as well as the data and technology. Allinq’s goal: reliability and predictability towards the customers, a streamlined operation and a gradual digitization of products and services.” 

“Having your data in order is a precondition for being successful in the modern world.”

Having the right data is crucial, because this affects the business, the organization and the technology. Wijers: “Having your data in order is a precondition for being successful in the modern world.” Only with clear, accessible and safely managed data is it possible to offer customers the desired products and services. This demands the right organizational skills and responsibilities, and an IT department that is wholly in sync with the goals of the company.

Business agenda

The so-called Operating Model Canvas helps make strategic data and technology choices easier. Bor van Dijk, who primarily focuses on the digital business agenda for clients of Anderson MacGyver, explains: “An A0-format poster shows the correlation among business activities, customers and business partners in one glance. It stimulates the use of one company common language for all involved and forms the connection between the business model, the company processes, the data and the IT systems.

The Operating Model Canvas also helps companies understand the context and dynamics in which our clients operate. “This requires companies to listen closely and ask specific questions. Many companies have similar management models and activities and even on a detail level may appear the same. That is why the level of analysis must do justice to the uniqueness of each customer. Our strength is that we provide customized services based on best practices with which management teams can actually achieve their digital agendas.”

Organization

Once the organization has been properly canvassed, an effective and efficient structuring and support for the various business activities follows, each with their characteristic speed and dynamic. According to Anderson MacGyver’s Edwin Wieringa, this is best achieved with multi-disciplinary teams that all provide value which correlates to the strategy. “Some teams focus on the rapidly changing demands of the business, while others are aimed at activities that require stability and predictability. The digital exchange of information ensures harmony and cohesion. It enables every component to optimally organize itself for these specific activities, with the right competencies in the right place.”

Many companies are now grappling with an antiquated information provision that impedes the development of new digital services, concludes Guild Lead Technology Onno Wasser. “When designing as new digital landscape, the business activities have a guiding role. The chosen solutions must also do justice to the supporting processes, functions and domains – for example, within the finance, purchasing or HR departments. In practice, a “fit for purpose” technology often consists of value-oriented activities with much customer interaction. Activities that can fluidly move along with customers and the market and are backed up by a stable information provision.

Solid basis

Onno Wasser cites the international construction and engineering company SPIE as a prime example of Anderson MacGyver’s three-pronged approach. “They have implemented the digital agenda throughout the entire organization as based on their core operational activities. Ultimately, one technology platform supports the five most prominent organizational components. This offers many advantages in terms of management and data policy.”

Also at other clients, a successful digital transformation is based on a combination of business agenda, organizational structure and technology. Anderson MacGyver facilitates a cooperative process that solves problems by using proven concepts methods, expertise and an open approach. In this, the clients’ context and challenges are always the focal point.

Eneco is currently the leader in the Netherlands when it comes to supporting customers in the transition to sustainable energy use and it would like to keep it that way. As CIO of Eneco Group, Mario Suykerbuyk plays a crucial role in realizing this ambition. He has implemented wide-ranging changes in which IT, in terms of organization and solutions, operates as a full extension of the strategic business agenda.

Within the whole framework of the energy transition, people are faced with lots of options, says Suykerbuyk. “As an alternative to natural gas, initiatives for heat pumps and heat networks are cropping up. Solar panels and electric cars are becoming more and more popular. We want to help our customers with the choices they face in their personal energy transition.”

Proper use of data is critical

“There are three important aspects to my role, “says the Chief Information Officer (CIO). “We must be able to provide our products and services to customers quickly and simply. In addition to energy and insulation, this also includes solar panels, charging stations and much more. We need an excellent operation to be able to provide our services at the lowest possible cost. And also vital, we must continue to be the frontrunners in the area of technology. Proper use of data is crucial in offering specific customer-oriented services.”

Centralized structure and vision

According to Gerard Wijers, who is involved via Anderson MacGyver, it all revolves around being smart and scalability. “With smart meters and digital interaction, you acquire increasingly more information about the context and energy use of customers. Quick scale-ups and innovative services often require a modernization of the existing IT systems. There are all kinds of challenges and these can’t all be solved by the same kinds of people. It demands a different organizational structure and operational management.”

From a centralized structure and with one shared vision, Eneco now focuses the right, often scarce resources on specific, strategic goals. Suykerbuyk: “In the areas we can distinguish ourselves; we work with our own people. Generic matters are often outsourced.”

Digital transformation

Digitization has a way of fusing many fields. The comfort level at home can be controlled via an app, people gain insight into their own use and know when the central heating boiler needs a tune-up. The various underlying chain processes are modified to fit the individual customer. Over the past two years, the newly founded IT organization has worked hard at integration on the basis of standardized IT and data.

“The transformation to standardized IT platforms knows no national boundaries,” continues the Eneco Director. “Once a Rotterdam company, we are now active in Germany and Belgium and are slowly on our way to becoming a real European organization. We already have windmills, solar parks and power plants everywhere.”

“IT is interwoven in all of the great things Eneco is trying to do”.

Suykerbuyk, as CIO, makes the connection between business and technology at a managerial level. “This is necessary because IT is so interwoven in all of the great things Eneco is trying to do. This has a massive appeal for talented, highly-motivated young entrepreneurs. Not only within IT, but also in the rest of the organization. Besides being CIO, he is now also a member of the Commercial Management division.

Collaboration with Anderson MacGyver

“For me, Eneco is the prime example of how IT belongs in the boardroom,” says Wijers. “It shows that you can make a difference with one central tech-and-data organization. With good people, simple platforms and a clear roadmap. This way, you create a new digital reality on your own, and with all the related products, services and processes. This is the number one theme of these times.”

Realizing your own large-scale digital transformation takes time. By collaborating with a firm like Anderson MacGyver, Eneco is able to bring tried and tested solutions on the market much faster. There is a chronological sequence that must be followed, says Mario Suykerbuyk. “First, you must determine the strategy, then you need to have the right people in the right place to do what is necessary. Experience has taught us this will and makes all of the stops on the roadmap much easier to achieve.”

Lisa Bruijnincx

The worlds of business and sports are more alike than you might think. Both are characterized by that continual search for improvement, innovation and excellency. Anderson MacGyver believes that the future is digital. Professional athletes inspire us to always be ready for that next step and create a digital transformation for our clients. 

That is why Anderson MacGyver is teaming up with Dutch row star Lisa Bruijnincx. We support Lisa in her journey towards the international top. Follow our updates on here to stay informed about this exciting collaboration, as Lisa rows towards her ultimate goal: the Olympic Games in Paris. 

Update

Rik Bijmholt, Anderson MacGyver co-founder and international athlete Lisa Bruijnincx have a digital meet-up and discuss some concrete steps in both international journeys.

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Our previous blog states that, with the right attitude, organisations can use the corona crisis as a catalyst for change. In this blog we build upon that premise by explaining how organisations should respond in times like these.

Desperate times call for desperate measures – the ancient Greek saying turns out to be ever so true today, during the corona crisis. Organisations must adjust to new rules and regulations, a customer drain or at the very least changes in customer behaviour, and a partially eliminated workforce due to illness. And although we are all dealing with the same corona crisis, the appropriate response mechanism[1] varies amongst organisations and industries and can shift over time as well.

When in chaos, act first and think later

In times of chaos, there is no order whatsoever as cause and effect relationships do not exist, nor do they matter, and basic survival instincts prevail. Clear examples that demonstrate this kind of behaviour were the September 11 WTC and 2011 Norway Utøya attacks where basically any action was preferable if it led to safety. There is no time to experiment, wonder or analyse the situation. Similar behaviour is very much visible during COVID-19. Everyone still has the vivid images of hospital-ICs, where many were overwhelmed by the immense influx of corona patients that quickly led to exceeding the maximum capacity, instigating a crisis. The same was noticeable when the virus hit national soil, when many governmental bodies demonstrated appropriate chaotic behaviour; that is to act first and get out of the chaos, and sense and response later. Dictator type leadership, top-down instructions issued, army support, curfews, regular street checks, all in place to desperately get a grip on the ever-spreading threat. Another example, the hospitality and travel industries. Both almost completely shut down and experienced a high degree of uncertainty; they had no clue what would happen next; when can we reopen again, how long can I survive financially and will our industry even be the same after corona?

Complex situations require experimenting to discover what works

Although we acknowledge the severity of the COVID-19 crisis on societal level, many organisations may not actually have experienced a Chaotic state. Instead, they were facing extreme Complex circumstances. They experienced fuzzy cause-and-effect relationships and most likely found that analysis and experience did not help in making the right decisions. The appropriate course of action in this context is to experiment with various options (‘probe’) and change your strategy if it is not successful. When companies underwent a complete and immediate shutdown of their business, many found themselves (and some still are) in this situation. Companies were unaware of what they should and could do to mitigate the negative effects, so the best way is to start experimenting to see what will work best for them as we have seen many organisations doing so successfully. Take for instance all the Michelin-star restaurants that were used to offering a complete customer experience and are now doing ‘plain’ take-away and delivery. Or remember the example in our first blog of the first Dutch ice cream drive-through, fitness centres that offer their classes online after an initial trial-period, cancelled festivals that reverted to an online event or via television. All in search of new ways to generate revenue, stay in touch with their customers and fans, and survive the sudden complexities handed to them.

Complicated situations allow for experience-based analysis

Some organisations were lucky enough to not find themselves (not for long) in Chaos as well as Complex situations and mostly ‘suffered’ from Complicated circumstances. Although cause and effect relationships remain much clearer and a sense of predictability exists, decision-making still requires (expert-) analysis to be successful. In current COVID-19 times, this is visible in bars and restaurants adjusting their floor plan and arrangement of tables to adhere to social distancing measures, or in institutes of higher education that now completely need to shift to online teaching. For many organisations, it will suffice to sense the new rules, analyse the possible options, and choose new effective practices accordingly. Organisations that, for example, experience an interrupted, international supply chain due to their offshored personnel being disconnected, will have to weigh their options and choose an alternative, probably onshore, solution to replace the unavailable services.

When simple circumstances rise, you can rely on best practices

Over time, disorder can fade. When uncertainties have vanished and new standards have been established in society, a sense of predictability might return. Such rather Simple conditions allow for standardized decision-making and relying on best practices when choosing your response. A fitting example of a shift towards Simple circumstances in the COVID-19 era is decision-making in supermarkets and public places; over time limiting the number of visitors and determining who can enter and who is denied access based on the national health checklists will probably have become the new standard. The extent to which ‘over time’ lasts for an organisation is however strongly affected by its industry as numerous industries will probably remain in a Complicated or even Complex situation for a long time. The airline industry, for example, is facing hard times with restricted airspace all over the world, while the entertainment industry is finding ways to survive on half-full houses due to social distance measures. And then lastly, it must not be forgotten that many organisations might not survive COVID-19 at all and will drown in a desperate attempt to survive or have even already gone under for good.

Circumstances change, and so does society

Obviously, the appropriate response mechanism and its ultimate effectiveness heavily depend on the context and disorder organisations find themselves in. Although it is becoming more evident each day that we will remain in this daunting situation for a while, examples are already showing us that many organisations have the potential to survive a time like this. ‘All’ you need is the right attitude and capabilities to match the situation you are in.

This crisis is reminding us of the fragility of our society and the impact that multiple organisations can suffer as a chain reaction to a single decision or event. For example, having discovered that working remotely is perfectly suitable in many industries, several organisations have decided to close their offices or instigate restricted access. Not only might this decrease in operational expenses show in a lowering of prices for their customers in the long term, it can impact society on a larger scale as well. Imagine the ripple effect when increasingly more people work from home: national commuting traffic would decrease, which on the long term effects for instance leasing companies and public transport providers who will see their revenues drop. On the bright side, less travel to work equals less of a burden on the environment, less traffic jams and subsequently less economic losses. You get the picture, right? The impact and unpredictability of this ripple effect makes for such a dynamic environment that decision-makers need to be even more alert than usual for shifting circumstances and could cause entire industries to remain in a Complex or Complicated situation indefinitely. We anticipate COVID-19 to have an undeniable and lasting effect on our society. What do you think, does this crisis mark the dawn of a new era?

By the way, a final note: are you interested in the underlying theory? Please take a look at this video of Snowden explaining his Cynefin model.

You might be wondering why some organisations, despite their adequate response to disorder, are more successful than others to quickly adapt in a time of crisis. In our next and final blog of this trilogy, we will elaborate on the aspects that not only help your organisation prepare for disorder but create long lasting strategic advantage as well.

[1] The Cynefin framework by Snowden (1999) provides direction to navigate times like these. Source: Snowden & Boone, 2007, A Leaders Framework for Decision-Making, Harvard Business Review.