As I found while leading special operations forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, if the problem is interconnected, your organization must be, as well.

Chris Fussell

Categorized in : Your Special Problem Organization

As a leader, you must consistently drive effective communication. Meetings must be deliberate and intentional - your organizational rhythm should value purpose over habit and effectiveness over efficiency.

value drive you communication

There's a difference between doing things right and doing the right thing.

difference doing doing-the-right-thing

In any bureaucracy, there's a natural tendency to let the system become an excuse for inaction.

become inaction bureaucracy natural

If you're trying to stay productive, stop and think, 'Are my meetings actually productive, or are we merely having meetings for meetings' sake?'

stop think you meetings

The information age has ushered in a networked and interdependent world, one in which challenges and opportunities appear and disappear faster than traditional organizational models can manage.

information age challenges world

Silos and bureaucracy are well-oiled machines in corporate America, but they are ultimately perpetuated by individual behavior. If we start behaving differently, we can create change. In other words, shifting your focus onto the team - or the ship as a whole, not just yourself - will have meaningful impact.

words yourself focus change

The 20th century was all about hierarchies: if you want to create something, if you want to start a country, create a product, whatever it is. Your goal is to create a highly efficient hierarchical model, scale it, because that's what the competition's doing.

start you competition country

The 21st century is dominated by networks because the introduction of the information age, we can suddenly create, free flow these globally distributed, organic, shaped networks of individuals.

free create information age

When the collective mentality of any organization is self and self-preservation first, it's a sure sign of pending doom.

first mentality organization self

The Defense Department is prone to all of the 'traditional bureaucratic rules,' which is the same thing you'll find in most traditional government systems.

rules find you government

Special operations are small, highly specialized. They do amazing work when they're put into the fight, but it's a limited resource. And so if we become overly dependent on an organization that's designed for a very specific mission and expect them to solve all problems around the world, you're naturally going to overextend it.

fight you work world

The reality, as the battlefield taught us, is that a 20th-century organizational system is simply insufficient for the speed of the information age.

speed information age reality

The truth is that key influencers exist in all effective organizations, but a solid-line org chart won't tell you where they are.

tell you truth-is truth

Before you can trust your team to make decisions better than you would have, you need to build their capability to connect the dots.

better you trust team

It's difficult to feel as though you are truly being effective at work. Many of us feel trapped in endless meetings, with barely any time to grab lunch, let alone do any work. Overarching strategies and key priorities seem completely divorced from the day-to-day tactics.

alone you work time

As the insurgency in Iraq started to grow, we realized this is a connected network of individual actors that can move at light speed.

grow individual speed light

When we first met, I was probably six layers down in the military structure, but General McChrystal at that time was a soldier's leader, and he was part of the task force. So everyone developed close relationships.

down leader soldier time

As you move up a traditional, sort of bureaucratic structure, there's a certain point at which you realize, 'Well, I'm not really on the implementation or execution side - I'm not on the battlefield. I'm an operations person who's overseeing multiple units that are out on the ground doing the job.'

realize doing job you

Bureaucratic advancement means fewer peers, more span of control, generally an increasing information-pump function, and increased distance from the actual implementation of whatever it is the organization does.

control more distance organization

How often are you really realigning yourselves on strategy? And does it need to be faster, based on how quickly your market actually changes? The answer is usually yes.

your need you strategy