Building Competitive Advantage

This Productivity Tool consists of a comprehensive set of models to assist leaders in 3 key areas: (1) developing a compelling vision/mission and creating the conditions that support mission achievement, (2) making teamwork the corporate way of life, and (3) building strategic alignment through the systems view.

True competitive advantage is more difficult to achieve and sustain than ever before. Technological breakthroughs are hard to come by, and when they do occur, they are quickly reverse-engineered and copied by competitors.

It may be that the only sustainable competitive advantage lies in the development of a trained, committed work force-people who are energized by an important vision, who are committed to the pursuit of excellence, and who are fairly rewarded for their efforts. The development of the global marketplace with worthy competitors in virtually every industry has changed the organizational world profoundly. Today, and increasingly in the future, any organization that chooses anything less than the pursuit of excellence (continuous improvement) in serving its customers is choosing to go out of business. In industry after industry, "good enough" is no longer good enough.

Many companies will look for short cuts to excellence, and they will fail in the process. There are no short cuts to excellence. The serious pursuit of excellence requires leaders who can sustain a pointed focus on an important purpose, who value teamwork above individual achievement, and who are constantly working for the best fit between all parts of the organizational system.

The pursuit of excellence is synonymous with continuous improvement. It means learning every day. It means trying new things and failing, but not becoming a failure. It means listening to customers in a way very few companies have done in the past. It means developing partnerships with customers, suppliers, and associates in such a way that everyone benefits and everyone is empowered. It means setting high performance standards today and raising them tomorrow. It means a commitment to the development of people that never wavers.

The information age is placing a new premium on the importance of learning fast. Organizations that can't learn fast are already having difficulty meeting the challenges of rapid change. In the 21st century, learning organizations are the only ones that will be able to compete.