How to build capability-driven growth into your organization’s DNA
In my last article, “Why you should focus on enterprise-wide, capability-driven growth in an era of acquisitions”, we explored the why behind developing a capability-driven growth strategy. Now, let’s talk about how to make it happen, systematically.
Organizations are full of processes and procedures, many enabled by systems, to inform employees on how to execute their jobs and ensure consistency in how activities are getting accomplished. However, there seems to be a shortage of processes to enable, systematize, and involve all employees in constant capability improvement. What if all employees were true innovators with a role in improving and integrating capabilities across the organization to deliver on their value proposition and truly drive growth?
To put the capability improvement into practical terms and make it repeatable, consider a Capability Improvement Cycle where employees are always Scanning & Defining to find improvement opportunities based on customer insights and an innovative mindset. Opportunities are then added to an agile backlog for further Review & Prioritization. This way, innovative ideas can come from anyone in the organization. Review & Prioritization can be done by a select team using various methods such as financial value analysis, metrics, surveys, and other means. Selected ideas are then Piloted & Measured (think Minimum Viable Product), and eventually Improved & Scaled if they prove valuable.
To make capability-driven growth a true differentiator, organizations should invest in communicating it to employees through the Capability Improvement Cycle (above) and a map of high-value capabilities and enablers (like the one below but tailored to your organization).
In addition, employees could have a view into the ongoing capability development roadmap and the results of these investments. Each organization’s capability map and enablers will differ and evolve depending on their customer strategy. These models are sources of competitive advantage and organizations will have to balance their proprietary nature with the value of giving their team insight and input into them.
Another item to consider is the alignment of capabilities to functional and cross-functional departments. When the alignment is too tight or too exclusive, such as marketing “owns” promotion or support “owns” account management, it can prevent organizations from delivering a unified customer experience and value proposition. Rather, what if Marketing, Sales, Support, Technology, Finance, and Human Resources defined their roles and interactions in communicating and delivering a unified value proposition to customers?
Building the discipline into your organizational DNA
Think back to our earlier metaphor — organic growth is about continuous improvement of your organization’s capabilities. By developing the organizational discipline to continuously scan for and identify opportunities to strengthen customer acquisition, retention, and growth capabilities, your organization can unlock significant organic and sustainable growth with less risk than acquiring a new company. Building this focus into your institutional DNA makes it inclusive and repeatable.
In an era of accelerating change, organizations are seeking rapid transformation to remain relevant. It is more critical now than ever to have a transformative vision with an evolutionary mindset; one where each employee participates directly in growth and is empowered to generate ideas without fear of making mistakes.
At its core, business is about maximizing the potential and performance of your organization and everyone connected with it (customers, employees, and partners) through inclusive processes and a culture that values constant capability evolution as the road to transformation.
Everyone contributes to capability-driven growth!
Jeremy Dulle, a Client Partner at Slalom, is a business strategy and management consultant who helps clients achieve growth and efficiencies through global commercial excellence programs. With over 20 years of experience as both a strategy consultant and an executive, he has worked extensively with organizations across industries, from the Fortune 500 to startups, to acquire, grow, and retain profitable customers.
