Collapse...
Collapse is often a misunderstood event. The reason is it all happens quickly and unexpectedly [see photo]. Most telling is that a collapse is often an implosion. The entity is there one moment but it is gone the next. It is still there because the structure is being shored up with new staff and resources; but, suddenly all that is left is a pile of rubble.
What we often do not see before a collapse is that staff and systems grossly "under perform". This can happen in many different ways but it might be as simple as the systems do not scale. This means they are prone to "workarounds" and over staffing.
Talented staff leave and take their precious intellectual property with them. The real issue, however, is the basic structure and processes become stretched with too many "single points of failure". This means that the whole entity becomes obsessed with contingency planning. Discussion groups spring up, here-there-and-everywhere, like mushrooms after a storm. These groups spend more and more time addressing "what if?" questions. And the biggest "what if?" question is "what if we run out of luck?"
The mistake that many entities make when they are in rapid decline is that they foster local innovation that can not scale. Furthermore these local innovations become a serious bulwark to growth. Also, the staff who embrace local innovations become tribal about them.
Therefore the structure of the whole entity becomes fragmented and processes lose their flexibility. With this loss of flexibility comes a tardy response to crises. Crises become commonplace. And a crisis culture can swiftly become toxic; so the decline gains pace.
Collapse is not foreseen because the flaws within an entity are often treated as a feature.
Richard
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