THE LEFT-BRAIN ORGANISATION APPROACH

The Left-Brain Organisation Approach And It's Impact On Strategic Planning

The left-brain organisation Approach and it's impact on Strategic Planning

Introduction

When an organisation becomes right-brain dominated it tends to become chaotic and inconsistent, failing to produce coherent offerings that make sense to the marketplace. Often, former glories are overshadowed by flashy, complicated products and services that are pale imitations of their predecessors. As new releases fail to make market traction, resources become scarce and desperation sets in.

The left-brain organisaion Approach and it's impact on Strategic Planning

Creativity is looked to as a lifeline, but more creativity is not the answer. It's more likely the left-brained guy in the corner with his arms folded tightly that holds the answers. The solution to an organisation dominated by the right-brain (feel, imagine, instinct, belief, fantasy, risk and possibility) is to open the door to the left brain (logic, details, facts, know, science, reality and safe). Success lies in balance, coordination and in that great 80s management concept: synergy. If you're a left-brain sort of person, and you read last month's article then chances are you developed a small but discernible sense of satisfaction. A wry grin that expresses your belief that when businesses go wrong it's because of a lack of discipline.

A belief that if only more organisations had KPIs, budgets and comprehensive business plans, then they would soar to the lofty heights of greatness. Analysis, research and evidence: these are the faces of the triune god of the left-brainer.

Just as the right-brain dominated organisation is likely to explode supernova-style, so the left-brain dominated organisation is destined to implode and die; a big boring black hole. Left-brain dominated organisations have more than their fair share of problems, and they tend to revolve around being stale. As with the right-brain dominated organisations, the strategic plan will be a good barometer to start with.

The left-brain organisation will embrace strategic planning because it has become conventional business wisdom, and the left-brain oriented value precedent very highly - it mitigates risk. The strategic plan will be full of business jargon and will probably be a lengthy document. It will be detailed, rational and coherent. It will also tend to be dull and uninspiring, lacking humanity. The strategic plan will often be used as a bastion of the tried and true, as a justifier of repetition of existing business models and outputs. The strategic plan will be a tool for stifling creativity and innovation because these changes are threatening.

Look then to the profit and loss statementAn organisation that is left-brain dominated will probably be seeing some worrying trends. Revenues are likely to be primarily from products and services that have been in the market for some time. Revenue from new products and services (a KPI for companies like Hewlett-Packard) is likely to be minimal. Many inside the organisation will likely be concerned that market share is shrinking as more innovative competitor products steal customers away.

This organisation, focused on analysis and safety, on patch-protection and conventionality, will find ...