When complacency plagues an enterprise, mediocre performance prevails at best and disaster lurks at worst. Just think about the BP oil spill and the allegations of complacency over safety issues leading up to the rig explosion. Consider the Eurozone countries, where leaders watched debt mount until the necessary austerity measures rocked the region and the economic malaise threatened the global economy. Or the U.S. housing collapse and Great Recession, which happened before the very eyes of expert bankers and regulators.
The opposite of such colossal failures are epic breakthroughs that move a company forward. Think of tech sector innovations from the PC to the iPad, breakthrough business practices such as moving IT operations to the cloud, which saves time and money.
Complacent companies simply can’t achieve such innovations or make such bold business moves. Sure, they have business goals to strive for and five-year plans to execute. But we challenge enterprises to achieve Breakthrough Performance every day — not just as a one-time exercise, but also as standard operating procedure.
Breakthrough Performance Formula
So what is Breakthrough Performance? It’s unprecedented outcomes that give rise to new opportunities for the future. That level of performance day in and day out perpetuates the enterprise itself, as it continues to reinvent itself, realize efficiencies, and exceed its own goals.
We put the concept into an equation that’s as simple as elementary arithmetic: High Grasp of Reality + High Level of Generating Possibility = Breakthrough Performance
It just means that when business leaders truly get where their enterprise stands — from internal issues to the global marketplace — and then consistently create an environment for fostering innovation and potential for the future, then Breakthrough Performance becomes the norm. Complacency is never even an option.
For more innovation research and discussion about business innovation, check out the Insigniam innovation blog.
