Companies have begunb scrutinizing their value chains from the bottom up and the top down because none of our customers has the extra time or money to be wasted by underperforming partners or suppliers.   The smart  firms have already started this process in earnest. 

Organizations we work with are mustering the self-honesty and diligence to impose greater process discipline and rigor while, at the same time, becoming “turn-on-a-dime” adaptable.  To succeed in this low-demand cycle, businesses will have to focus on what matters most to their customers and relentlessly discard what’s leftover. 

With that in mind, our team this week looked at ways we can improve the quality of services we provide our clients. We convened a workshop in Chicago aimed at squeezing even more value out of our solution delivery model.   We asked ourselves, how can we build more capacity? How can we deliver targeted solutions to clients quickly while also eliminating complexity?  We’re always asking these questions but I can’t recall ever  approaching  them with more ferver and resourcefulness.   

Businesses everywhere are facing one of the most daunting questions of our age. Will institutions be barriers to helping their constituents succeed or will they be bridges to the future?  I think the latter is likely if we take the right approach.  According to our clients and partners, that’s What’s Next…

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Martin defines integrative thinking as the ability to deal with the tensions of competing solutions to a problem. Instead of choosing one solution at the expense of the other, the practioner generates a solution integrates both solutions.

In his ‘07 book, The Opposable Mind, Martin argues that integrative thinking is superior to conventional thinking which consists of “accpeting unattractive and unpleasant tradeoffs”.

This concept is relevant to how government and business leaders ought to approach the financial crisis.  Instead of deciding between implementing tax cuts or a stimulus package – seemingly contradictory models – why not try both?  Instead of businesses merely cutting operating costs, why not implement initatives that preserve high margin business increase customer retention and profit per customer.

Martin considers these issues in an October 8  interview. He applies integrative thinking to the vexing challenges associated with the economic crisis affecting today’s leaders.

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