The Great Cultural Alignment of 2010
February 22, 2010

The Great Cultural Alignment of 2010

Most of us are glad that 2009 is over. 2010 has brought new energy and a feel of optimism. This is encouraging. The Stock market the first week of January grew and the economic prognosticators said “it is good”.

We’ve seen ups and downs in the economic ride already this year. But we all know this is a cyclical economy and may be for our lifetime at least. The real challenge isn’t how much money we make or if we’ll survive, it is what do we do when the clients come back.

Public assembly facilities, universities, municipalities and other organizations have all made significant budget cuts – including layoffs. This means that the sudden influx of people in our facilities will require a significant ramp up in staff and in service. There was a book that came out many years ago called “Service Management”. It may have been ahead of its time. In short, it was validating the advent of the Service Economy that came in the 1980’s and flourished in the 1990’s. The book talked about how we had to adjust our style of management to focus on service instead of manufacturing. We are facing another significant economic revolution, one as significant of the industrial revolution a couple of centuries ago.

The new management model will require a more efficient, service based, value added approach. Existing skeletal sized staffs will not be able to effectively deliver this new model. Facilities will be adding personnel – untrained, ill-equipped personnel. The key will be to prepare now for a tactical implementation of this new culture.

“Cultural Alignment” will be the new buzz word in the industry very soon. It is more than developing a service plan and training your staff. It is the diagnosis of the organization, the development of vision/Goals, a strategic plan that aligns your goals with the staff, and the tactical implementation of the plan.

The industry has changed, our clients have changed and the economy has changed. It’s time we aligned ourselves with this new culture.

Rip Rippetoe
President, RSG