Michael Lissack
Evolution narratives. Organizations develop stories that connect change to continuity rather than presenting them as opposites. When pro- fessional services firm KPMG navigated its digital transformation, leader- ship created a “Heritage Forward” narrative that positioned technological evolution as the latest expression of the firm’s longstanding commitment to client service. Legacy integration. Organizations deliberately incorporate histor- ical elements into new initiatives rather than replacing the old with the new. When technology company IBM develops new offerings, it uses “Tradition Tracing” exercises that identify enduring values from previous generations of products to maintain in new iterations, creating continuity amid change. These approaches create what organizational theorist Karl Weick called “ongoing updating”—maintaining coherence not through stasis but through continuous adaptation that preserves essential identity.
Values rigidity, tactical flexibility
Organizations that navigate complexity effectively demonstrate re- markable consistency in core values while maintaining extreme flexibility in tactical execution. This combination creates stability in how decisions are made while allowing adaptation in what specific actions result. Online retailer Amazon exemplifies this balance through its famous leadership principles. While Amazon demonstrates extraordinary tactical flexibility—entering and exiting diverse businesses from books to cloud computing to healthcare—it maintains rigid consistency in the values that guide these decisions. The leadership principle “Customer Obsession” remains unchanged even as the specific manifestations of customer focus continuously evolve. This balance manifests in several organizational practices: Values-based decision frameworks. Organizations create explicit connections between enduring values and tactical choices. When health- care company Cleveland Clinic evaluates potential innovations, it uses
360
Made with FlippingBook. PDF to flipbook with ease