Organization Profiles - getting the arrows alligned

Which description best fits your company?
Cutting-Edge - State of the art firm, leading in it's field

New Thinking - Changing the way business is done or changing the world

High Profit - Looking for lucrative opportunities

Quality Lift - Uses best practices and implements new innovations successfully tried by others

Corrective - Looking to perpetuate their success

Structural - Pillars in their "community" with many achievements

Each of these descriptions is instrumental in stimulating new directions, strategic actions or visions for the company. In their true form, organization profiles do not exist. To achieve a “perfect” profile, a company or organization would have to be made up of people; all having the same dominate foresight profile. Recruiting for such an organization would be a nightmare, and it is uncertain just how long such a grouping would be able to continue to exist. Just like individuals, organizations have different styles that impact the companies’ policy and behavior. We also know that a combination of age and success can change a company’s profile. A life insurance company that started prior to a depression with the goal of relieving the effects of economic disaster could be categorized as Cutting Edge. They perceived a future event and met the need. However, insurance is a long-range business with a time margin: the length of the longest life and the last signed policy. All things having gone well, the life insurance company matures and needs people who can maintain and develop the company. A Quality Lift profile takes over. The company grows and due to its increased size becomes more complex and centralized showing signs of Corrective profile, that is they look to perpetuate their success. As pillars in their “community” with a proud history and achievements behind them, our model company begins to slip into a Structural profile, where innovation is not advancement, but is seen as a threat to traditions and time-tested methods learned the hard way. Change threatens basic company values and jobs. Which profiles do you have pushing and pulling within your organization?

What is your companies story?

Below are six descriptions of company profiles related to Foresight Styles Assessment research. Which ones tell the story of your company or organization?

Cutting Edge: is state-of-the-art and lead in their field.
New Thinking: changing the way business is done or change the world!
High Profit: looks for lucrative opportunities.
Quality Lift: uses best practices and implements new innovations successfully tried by others.
Corrective: looks to perpetuate their success.
Structural: are pillars in their community with many achievements.

Knowing which company profile fits is a boon to strategic planning. It can help you in hiring (which doesn't mean hiring only leaders with a similar style), in decision making, in visioning and mission development and in managing.

It may be that your organization has been around so long that it has had all of the above stories at one time or another. Something or someone comes along and renewes it and it takes on a different profile and starts not only a new story, but a new book! If you feel FSA's company styles can help you to work more effectively with your clients you can write for more information to info@foresightstyles.com. Why not tip a colleague to www.foresightstyles.com?