Page 224 - How Great Leaders Build Abundant Organizations That Win

THE WHY OF WORK

Firms can either buy or build these generalizing compe-
tencies. To buy these generalizing competencies firms
can hire outside talent either full time (as employees) or
part time (as contracted consulting or outsourced partner-
ships). A build strategy for competencies involves training
or developing existing employees. A build strategy assumes
that with appropriate nurturing, current employees can
acquire competency at sharing knowledge. Moving talent
across units is a common build practice for sharing knowl-
edge, such as through a succession planning system that
lets employees apply for jobs or projects throughout an
organization. Using training events as forums for sharing
ideas and turning them into action also facilitates gener-
alization. Some innovative companies today are not only
moving people across units within their company but also
doing executive exchanges between their company and
customers or suppliers. Procter & Gamble high-potential
leaders who need more savvy in technology may exchange
roles for two to six months with Hewlett-Packard executives
who want to improve on brand management. These and
other ideas are listed in Table 8.1.

Incentives

The old adage “People do what they are rewarded for” is half
helpful. Without doubt, incentives change behavior. But
incentives work to accomplish business goals only when they
are based on clear and explicit standards. A better adage
would be “Incentives promote business goals when people
are rewarded according to clear and measurable standards
relative to those goals.” 7
When incentives link rewards to clear standards for learn-
ing agility, learning agility will increase. Start by measuring

200