Page 119 - How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win

THE WHY OF WORK

While no organization will endure for long if it is not
firmly grounded in empowerment agendas, ultimately the
goal is to empower, serve, and create value for customers and
stakeholders, not just to stroke the empowerment agendas
of individual employees. Having said that, the more firmly
grounded an organization is in the quadrant of empow-
erment—highly focused on both accomplishment and
people—the more that organization can keep a clear line of
sight between what it does well and the needs of customers.

A Leadership Agenda

While leaders need to walk in four directions at the same
time, it is important to learn how to manage priorities and
results across the four quadrants. Herbert Simon, the Nobel
prize-winning economist defined the principle of satisfic-
ing. Satisficing suggests that some quadrants, though worth
doing, may not be worth excelling at. There are things that
are worth doing but worth doing poorly. Those quadrants
that define our identity and purpose require our maxi-
mum efforts and energy. Like Kobe Bryant’s commitment
to winning basketball games, these will be the essence of
our game, the desires and strengths we rely and build on
for success. Other quadrants we will satisfice, meeting basic
criteria so these things won’t interfere with other goals rather
than looking for the very best way to approach them. Like
Bryant’s jump shots, we need to do these things moderately
well but not superbly. In a world of limited resources of time,
funds, and energy, it is crucial to know the primary motiva-
tions and purposes to which we will give our best effort and

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