Three Attributes of Company Success
I came across the above Faulkner quote the other day. Since then I’ve been thinking about the mix of the three attributes Faulkner named — experience, observation, and imagination — and if and how their mix applies to successful companies. Can an organization make do with only two, or even one of those attributes without the other(s)?
I’ve concluded that, like good writing, exceptional companies may rely on one or two of these attributes at certain moments in time. But to build long-term, sustainable growth, they must integrate these elements well to enhance one another instead of regularly relying just on one or two legs of the stool.
The value of experience in context
I’ve written in the past about the relative value of experience — in sales and otherwise — in a company’s ability to execute well on its vision.
Some laud lack of experience as a way to pursue more risky activities ignorantly and more aggressively. They argue that experience obscures the ability to imagine and observe, impeding growth by prohibiting a person from seeing options and being open to new possibilities.
However, with too little experience — either direct or vicarious — one runs the risk of repeating known mistakes, slowing down progress unnecessarily. Limited experience can also obscure observation or imagination; inexperienced people can miss the nuance or uniqueness of situations — and whatever opportunities or lack thereof may be contained within them. Or, like teenagers unable to see past their current crisis, they don’t appreciate the insignificance over time of their findings, interactions, or situations and imagine how they can make things better.
Who’s right? Of course it depends. What’s more interesting to me is that the value people ascribe to experience tends to hinge upon their views on its effects on the other two elements — observation and imagination. Ironically, isn’t that based on their experiences — either imagined or observed?
Observation: reimagined for the enterprise
While I think Faulkner meant observation as “living vicariously,” today, we tend to extend observation’s definition — complete with the vicariousness of social media — to voice of the customer, pattern recognition, data driven decision-making, and the like.
Organizations lacking observational discipline go right from brainstorming to implementation with limited analysis or vetting of an idea’s efficacy. Others rely on the wrong observations for the purpose, e.g., pattern recognition (where “pattern” is determined on just their limited experience) over data demonstrating the contrary. Other companies or individuals observe too much, sucking in every data point and taking every piece of advice they get into consideration, rendering them either unable to make decisions or constantly measuring for measurement sake.
Under-observers and over-observers each have trouble “reading the room.” Under-observers miss key reactions and messages, versus over-observers who will miss the same signs because they are so busy ingesting data and exploring inputs.
As with experience, observation is best deployed in context, integrated with its counterpart elements. Observing without imagining how the competitive landscape could shift leaves companies vulnerable to missing critical trends. Similarly, observing without experience can leave companies equally exposed to competition.
Imagination doesn’t build your envisioned drill, flame thrower, catapult, rocket, etc.
So much emphasis, particularly within startup communities, is given to imagination. Imagination is the ability to see the world in a different way, which is hopefully filled with new options or possibilities instead of roadblocks or negative consequences. When we talk about imagination, it’s generally used in the more visionary sense, as opposed to the apocalyptic one.
But even visionary imagination is not sufficient. And in many cases, it can be problematic.
(Now I feel like I’ve said the Silicon Valley equivalent of Peter Pan’s “I don’t believe in fairies” and Tinkerbell is urging me to clap my hands and recant my statement in order to resurrect her poisoned self! So let me explain.)
As with experience and observation, an organization that relies on imagination alone may be at risk. Without the experience and observation accompanying it to reduce an idea to practice — an imagined idea remains trapped behind the brick wall instead of inventing and implementing ways around it.
Getting the elements to work together
How do you get that optimal interplay of experience, observation, and imagination in your organization to sustain growth and drive success? Here are some thoughts.
Understand a prospective hire’s attribute mix during the interview process, and how she might contribute to your organization from this perspective. Keep in mind that while some hires inherently gravitate toward one of the three extremes, others are chameleon-like, instinctively changing modes to balance things out depending on mix present in the room.
As a manager, compose teams with a good balance of the three attributes, not leaving just one person to bear the brunt of his primary element by himself. Depending on people’s attribute preferences, they can get frustrated if they’re constantly assigned certain roles by default because they’re the assigned defender of that particular element. For example, a former colleague once vented that he became “tired of being the only one to ever point out risks” in a project and that he wished he could “let go and brainstorm everyone once in awhile like everyone else.” In another case, a friend of mine lamented that seemingly every time he tried to propose a new idea that could help the business, “it was either shot down immediately because they’d always done things the same way, or it got so bogged down in vetting processes and analyses that it was DoA as soon as the words left my mouth.” Obviously neither of these is a great outcome and a likely way to lose some talented team members.
When leading meetings, encourage someone who leans toward one element more consistently to adopt another for argument’s sake, instead of always going to that element’s usual representative. This will give those “chameleons” a chance to break out of their de facto assignments. It will also give teammates who typically gravitate toward one attribute or another a chance to grow and build perspective.
Finally, show equal respect for each of the three attributes. For example, if experience or observation aren’t valued at the expense of imagination, it is a recipe for “groupthink,” ignoring the valuable perspective experience or data would reveal. Are you rewarding those who execute on an idea more or less than its originator?
Similar to striving for balance at the team level, your company shouldn’t restrict imagination to a particular department, and assign responsibility for experience or observation to another. Technologists, salespeople, marketers, financial or legal experts — each group is just as open or restricted when they apply their knowledge of what’s possible to a problem. A salesperson can take feedback literally, requirement by requirement, or understand the customer’s overarching objective and turn it on its head, seeing opportunity for something new. An engineer can restrict herself to the current data models or known algorithms, or can imagine improvements or different approaches altogether. Providing opportunities for these groups to interact and learn from one another and leverage each of the three elements across an organization is critical to building great company culture, and the success that comes with it.
Of course, like Faulkner says, it’s all right to stand on one leg once in awhile — but not for too long. Certain situations may call for more of one element than another occasionally. Sometimes you can’t imagine your way out of a situation you wish didn’t exist; you need an experienced person to repair a relationship. Other times it doesn’t matter how many times you run the numbers; you need a new, imaginative approach to a challenge. Over time, however, let your balanced team do what it does best: use their collective wisdom, analysis, and vision to get your organization to the next level.
