The AirTight Organizational

      Development (OD) Program

                    Build a World-Class SMB Team

In the last century the science of management has evolved dramatically. In the industrial age old school Theory-X (1960s), for factories and the industrial age with strong hierarchy and command and control worked fine. As the information age blossomed Theories Y and Z (1981) for managing a higher mix of professional and white-collar workers was needed.

In the last three decades management has evolved further by using more technology, not just for communications but also to allow for more virtual organizations, globalization, outsourcing and real-time project management. In addition, we now have proof of the effectiveness of collaborative management and many other High-Performance Team (HTP) best practices.

Combining these methods properly can dramatically improve organizational effectiveness, growth rates and create sustainable competitive advantage. Also approaches like open-source software and even collaborative content development (I.e. Wikipedia) have created new ways for organizations to tap the collective wisdom, knowledge and skills of larger and more dispersed professionals.

Benefits of Our Integrated Development Program

a)      Create a culture which is consistent with the company’s strategy, mission, value proposition and brand

b)      Improve manager performance, which has high ROI and leverage when using proven High-Performance Team (HPT) best practices

c)      Increase average tenure of the top people who need to grow professionally to move up and stay long-term

d)      Increase ability to attract top people who see a career path, not just a job

e)      Avoid political issues and group think by using an outside vendor who has no other interests or focus and can manage the program

These programs must have full support from the CEO down, with long-term commitment to succeed. We will not accept any engagement without a one year minimum term and the signature of the CEO of the organization because there is a high likelihood of failure without this level of support. This must be a commitment to change and constant improvement of the culture and company. It is working “on”, not “in” the business.

A growth company, or any company that wants to be a market leader, must invest in developing both its managers and the organization’s infrastructure to support growth. Favorable market factors always change but a high-performance culture creates sustainable competitive advantage by capitalizing on innovation and people.

Phases to Develop a High-Performance Culture

r  Evaluate the culture and plan the desired result. This will depend on the company, industry and situation but always have elements of meritocracy which attracts and keep the best people. We call the ideal culture a Darwinian Meritocracy™

r  Evaluate each individual manager and determine the gap that exists between current skills, desired skills today and target skills and abilities for 1-2 years out. Note that skills can be developed through learning but more complex arts require years of practice.

r  Design a custom plan for each individual with blended learning that includes a combination of study (basics and foundation), mentoring, coaching and their favorite learning modalities. Knowles is the state-of-the-art on adult learning.

r  Execute each plan, test, report and improve quarterly – This includes a mix of training, coaching and consulting to raise the level of each key person.

The Deming Wheel, or cycle of constant improvement

Organizational Development is a never-ending process because both internal corporate and external factors will always drive some change. Also, because there is always both employee turn-over and a need for refresher courses and product/service evolution.

Developing and controlling the culture is normally possible only in SMBs and departmental areas with focus. It becomes exponentially more difficult with groups over 100-200 people. It is critical to set up as early as possible. Larger organizations therefore must be have separate programs for each area, or line of business.

Every business with at least three managers should begin a rudimentary Management Development Program (MDP).  MDPs are focused on the individuals and their professional development. Budget - Typical budgets can be from 3-6% of the manager’s combined salaries. If CAGR is under 15% then a budget of 3% is usually sufficient unless there are serious problems or “overwhelm”. Growth rates over 15% would likely need to be on the higher end of this range to be effective and keep up with rapid growth.

Organizational Development Programs (ODPs) are broader and more holistic and focus on the abilities of the organization as a whole. ODP includes internal management systems, strategic and management processes, succession planning and preparing for the future of the organization. Think of OD as the skeleton and the executives and managers as organs in the body performing their specialized functions. At AirTight Management we call all these functions combine Human Capital Acquisition and Development (H-CAD).

Each organization will receive a custom plan
within the defined budget.

Some Tools of MD/OD

ü  Gap/Dysfunction analysis, 360 Evaluations, DISC tests and personality profiles

ü  Professional development training, usually supported by a Learning Management System (LMS) which acts as a growing repository of corporate knowledge

ü  Mentoring program, using institutional knowledge and people to develop and acclimate newer employees

ü  Coaching from external executive coaches

ü  Job rotation and other cross-training and empathy building to enhance interdepartmental communications and cooperation. Even company social function play a role here.

ü  Business process workflow analysis and optimization (BPM)

ü  Systems and policies for constant feedback, accountability and managing by the numbers (KPIs) to enhance management leverage

ü  An executive education program including self-development, reading, seminars, conventions, leadership training and development and other skills appropriate to the specific executive

Foundational Skills Managers Must Master