“In these matters, the only certainty is that nothing is certain"
–Pliny the Elder

I read this presentation "Coordination Headwind: How Organizations Are Like Slime Molds" https://komoroske.com/slime-mold/ from fast-growing company Stripe's head of strategy, Alex Komoroske. It's good stuff.
As you know, the first part of the FIT framework is Focus. Leadership's ability to describe a clear vision for the future. For it to work it needs to be far enough out to be recognizable, but not close enough to see details. Your teams just work better when they have a standard to keep in mind. It reminds me of the "I need to get to Springfield" story.
The man sits down on the park bench with a heavy sigh and says, "I really need to get to Springfield." The woman on the other end of the bench looks over and says, "I can help with that, but I have questions." "Okay," he replies, "shoot."
"First, which Springfield? Illinois? Ohio? Michigan? Massachusetts? Pennsylvania? Next, when do you need to get there? Today? Tomorrow? Next week? Before you die? What kind of budget do you have?"
When telling the story in a workshop I'll drag it out to make the point if every port is a destination, the ship doesn't know where to go. It's hard to make a decision. You want your teams to have the tools to operate independently in the face of a headwind. The way they do that is by having a destination they understand. You want them to stop and say to one another, "If we want to get to Springfield, Massachusetts by December 15, 2021, we need to keep this general direction." The details of the trip don't matter as much as the destination.
Focus allows your organization to keep pressing ahead, despite the coordination headwinds which come about from adding layers of people and complexity. Focus isn't a goal or outcome, it's a general place. We use it like a point on the horizon and aim at it.
If you're thinking through this at home, use this template to get started on how to describe your organization's Focus:
The world will look like X, my customers will be doing Y, and we'll provide value to them doing Z.
It's detailed enough to help with decision-making, but not specific enough to let headwinds take them too far off course. It allows for deviation in the face of coordination challenges, and lets your people make decisions as things change.
Coordination headwinds, Dorothy? “You always had the power my dear, you just had to learn it for yourself.”
Good stuff.
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