Summer

2022

ISSUE

No. 48

The Navigator

President's Message

Welcome to our next Navigator. I'm writing this Navigator from our summer lake house north of Green Bay, Wisconsin, where exactly on the date of the autumnal equinox Mother Nature flipped a switch, and we went from a warm, late summer to a frosty autumn. Literally 85F to 35F in 48 hours. Hope to see some fall colors before leaving for San Diego.

As I work remotely here, I'm reminded that at OSI we're settling into our new hybrid world. We have resumed delivering live workshops, but ZOOM is still a practical alternative for some distributed customers. So, the future looks like this continuing fusion of remote and 3D.

We've successfully transitioned OSI to a hybrid world, with a blend of work-from-home, and a smaller office for production and inventory. Our new world has taken shape.

A recent live workshop prompted this Navigator content. This particular program was a reminder of how important it is to prepare leaders to go from tactician to strategist. Two of the most common promotion decisions mistakes organizations make are, (1) overpromoting a star individual contributor into a front line leader role, and (2) overpromoting a competent middle management tactician to a "C" Suite strategic leadership job. The demands of both these roles are dramatically different and too often overlooked in placement.

Strategic Leadership Development

Using the Paper Nation Simulation to Teach Strategic Competencies

Bruce Griffiths M.S.

After a two year COVID pause for the return of face-to-face training, we recently restarted delivery of our Paper Nation simulation for a large Midwest retailer. This organization had been using the simulation to educate a cadre of high potential middle manager (store and HQ) in strategic leadership competencies (Strategic Thinking, Visioning, Financial Acumen, Business Acumen, and Risk-Taking). 

These select high potential middle managers, through simulation participation, were given a chance to experience the most senior roles in our simulated company, Paper Nation.

The OSI Paper Nation experience assigns nine or ten participants to teams representing the highest roles of a global B2B paper manufacturer. They must grow the business over a five year period with aggressive goals in finance, employee engagement, customer satisfaction, and clarity and communication of strategy.

The program includes formal instruction in strategy and finance (sometimes delivered by the sponsoring CEO and CFO), but the majority of time participant teams must form, storm, norm, and perform in the context of a competitive landscape. Each role is assigned key decisions which incumbents must align to realize a coherent strategy. Business cases for large capital expenditures are presented to further explore Strategic Thinking, Financial Acumen, Risk-Taking, and Business Thinking. 

Each team receives five "annual reports" provided at the end of every fiscal year, and can track progress against strategic targets. "Industry Summits" are held in which teams mix and compare progress with other team members in the same role.

In addition to learning finance from the CFO's perspective, and actually seeing a strategy play out over 5 years, participants regularly report an increased understanding of a complete business system, plus increased empathy for the complexity their senior leadership team confronts.

Paper Nation has been recognized by ATD as a "Best Practice" in leadership development. More information regarding the simulation can be obtained by contacting Crystal Matsuura at OSI at cmatsuura@orgsysinc.om or 858.455.0923.

Announcements

New Virtual Polaris® Certification Workshops

We are now offering the Polaris® Certification Workshops via webinar (Zoom) for individual coaches and/or HR professionals interested in the OSI Polaris® Competency Model and its supporting applications, especially the 360° developmental assessment. For more information, please contact Crystal Matsuura at cmatsuura@orgsysint.com or 858.455.0923.

Redefining Competency Based Education: Competence for Life



Co-authored by our very own president/senior consultant, Bruce Griffiths, and our business partner, Nina Jones Morel. Redefining Competency Based Education provides an expanded definition of career competence, based on actual employer hiring and promotion requirements, which enhances university curricula to better prepare students for work and life. Readers will learn how private sector competency models have evolved to define criteria for hiring, promoting, and training talent. 

Redefining Competency Based Education is available now through Business Expert Press or Amazon.

At Organization Systems International, we are celebrating more than 40 years of quality, service, and innovation. We deliver client success with a high-performance approach designed to enhance occupational relationships, improve operational efficiency, and sustain customer relationships.

Organization Systems International 

227 N El Camino Real, Suite 205

Encinitas, CA 92024

858-455-0923