Millions of Americans struggle with the affects of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), a condition that makes it difficult for individuals to focus and maintain their attention span. The disorder is usually treated with a combination of medication and behavioral therapy. Even the most routine tasks can be challenging for people suffering from ADD. Yet, as experts learn more about the disease they’ve discovered that people with ADD can be extremely entrepreneurial, visionary and as effective as managers in supportive and progressive work environments.
Much has been written about ADD, its symptoms and treatments. There are some experts who believe that the disorder is magnified by the pressures inherent in our fast paced and increasingly demanding lifestyle. At Lazorpoint we believe that entire businesses may be suffering from what we call Organizational ADD, a condition in which businesses have lost their focus and sense of mission and, as a result, are dangerously close to losing their competitive position in the marketplace.
Challenged by an unrelenting and competitive marketplace, too many businesses are adrift, unable to focus on a growth strategy appropriate for their market and sensitive to their customer needs. Compounding their dilemma, these businesses can’t figure out where they’ve gone wrong or how to fix things.
And just like an individual whose future success depends on conquering the
disorder, a business suffering from Organizational ADD must recognize and admit to its symptoms and quickly develop a strategy for neutralizing its potentially disabling effects.
Many times, Organizational ADD is a direct result of workplace environments that foster attitudinal resistance to change, a deaf ear to customer wants and daunting barriers to entrepreneurial and creative action on behalf of growth. Other times, Organizational ADD is simply the result of an eclectic blend of owner interests, combined with an undisciplined and internally-focused but not externally-responsive culture.
The first step to addressing Organizational ADD is to recognize and acknowledge that it is afflicting your enterprise. Then, a series of steps can help stabilize and refocus the organization:
1. Start with a self-awareness audit that objectively examines the way you are doing business. Throw management perceptions out the window and get back in touch with your customers. Ask them what’s right and wrong about how you do things. Be ruthlessly honest in your assessments and be prepared to instantly change everything and anything that stands in the way of you and your customer’s satisfaction.
2. Get focused on what counts and stop cluttering the work environment with directives, unproductive meetings and status quo enhancers that clog the organization’s communication channels and inhibit the free flow of ideas and information. Open communication and an entrepreneurial spirit among employees can lead to better ways of doing things, more productive employees, heartened customers and business growth. Motivate employees to launch efforts that gain and build trust with your customers. Focus on becoming the best choice for customers. Make decisions about where you
want to invest organizational time, money and energy. Sometimes good and interesting opportunities need to give way to renewed organizational commitment and focus on those few best opportunities that are directly at the core of your strategy.
3. Abandon getting things done in favor of getting things right. Customers want quality, responsiveness and cost effectiveness. They don’t want incomplete and ineffective services or products salvaged only by timely delivery. Create a work environment that rewards employees for attacking customer problems with zeal and entrepreneurial abandonment. Encourage people to figure out what’s wrong or how to solve problems rather than measuring their performance based on how satisfied you are with the way they respond to your commands.
4. Curtail management’s appetite for short-term success. Fast food is a quick hunger fix but it tends to add fat rather than muscle and power. An organization that is hyperactive in reaching for quick success won’t sustain growth over the long-term. That’s because short-term success often requires abandoning rational, creative and committed responses to customer demands and needs. Short-term success is usually attained with impulsive and reactive behavior that is seldom linked to any strategic plan or real growth objective. It quenches the organization’s immediate appetite but
does little for its long-term health.
5. Recognize the difference between can’t and won’t. Individuals with ADD can’t do some things as easily as they do others. It’s a very real handicap. But in most cases, there is little an organization can’t do if it mobilizes its collective will and talent. Organizational ADD results when management or employees simply won’t make decisions, resolve issues, strike down barriers to growth, or lay waste to status quo practices that stand in the way of growth. Organizational ADD restricts employees from
thinking about achieving success on behalf of the customer. With Organizational ADD, everything must happen, so nothing does.
6. Encourage a "get help" philosophy that allows people to feel comfortable in admitting they don’t always have the answer or they can’t always solve the problem alone. This approach empowers individuals to ask colleagues to team up in quest of the right idea or best solution in support of the customer. It discourages a myopic focus that easily results in a single individual’s dogged pursuit of the wrong answer. Best, nothing surpasses the team approach for preventing the development of blame-plagued
workplace cultures.
For More Information on ADD
For information on ADD, visit the Attention Deficit Disorder Association, ADDA, website at www.add.org. They provide information, resources and networking opportunities to help adults with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD) lead better lives.
Our Conclusion
Attention deficit disorder is a serious conditionthat warrants sensitiveand effective treatment if an individual suffering from the disorder is to reach his or her fullest potential. It’s no different for a business suffering the ill effects of Organizational ADD. Such organizations are often unable or unwilling to attack the barriers that are preventing healthy growth and preserving the status quo becomes more important than embracing change and becoming the best choice for customers and employees alike. If you think your business is suffering from Organizational ADD, Lazorpoint may be able to help.
