Evidence of organizational intelligence or lack there of is abundant in our world today. Whenever you see an organization accomplish a company wide goal you know there was a collective intelligence at work. Like the construction company that in two years drastically improved their safety record and saved millions in insurance costs. Or the technical services company branding itself by being first to market with a revolutionary new software program. Unfortunately, just as prevalent are those “what were they thinking” blunders that can set a company back for years. Like the engineering company working on a new, state of the art nuclear reactor only to find that design changes in one department that were not communicated, left two critical components incompatible and put the project behind by months costing the company millions.
The reality is that left unrecognized and unattended to, a company will gravitate towards collective stupidity. Ironically, as a company organizes itself with departments, structures, and regulations it unknowingly makes it harder and harder for people to put their collective intelligence to work. Smart companies add one more element to their organizing process. They manage the conditions and circumstances where knowledge and learning can flourish, thereby creating connections, aligning efforts, and leveraging their intellectual capital. This is accomplished by having clear, concrete, intentional strategies involving leadership, employee engagement/ownership, knowledge transfer and knowledge deployment.
In our knowledge driven economy, companies cannot afford to take organizational intelligence for granted. The new competitive advantage is being smarter than your competition. How does your company stack up?
Gus Cooke has been helping organizations manage their learning and development strategies for 15 plus years. He lives in Boulder Colorado with his wife and musical partner Beth.
