Sine Qua Non

1% of a day is 14 minutes and 24 seconds. I start each day by spending 2% reading. I set my timer to read a personal improvement book for the first 1% of my day. Then, I spend the second 1% of my day reading a skill or deep knowledge book. In one of the books, Deep Work, I read a term that I had forgotten: Sine Qua Non, which means something that is absolutely necessary. I also appreciate the synonyms listed above from thesaurus.plus. Because I love the work of transformation, I asked myself, what is the sine qua non for transformation? While transformation is a sine qua non for organizations, what is necessary to drive transformation outcomes?

I recently wrote about the necessity of sloppy conversations for driving transformation. This morning, I read, "We who cut mere stones must always be envisioning cathedrals." That implies that an organization must have a vision of its transformed self and not get lost in the mere cutting of today's stones.  In addition to a grand vision, other elements are needed to drive transformation.

These elements are "sine qua non" of effective transformation.

1. Clarity of your transformed future organization: An organization must have a clear data definition of what its transformed organization looks like. While there is no certainty looking ahead, clarifying the desired transformation is key. Some call this setting a vision; I call it the work of describing what the organization should look like in the future.

2. A strategy: In Richard Rumelt's work, a strategy is a way to overcome a challenge. It is not a fancy PowerPoint full of high-sounding words but a map and plan for the future.

3. Business Model Portfolio Management: An organization's current business model or portfolio of business models must be deeply assessed. One key activity is to score the organization's business model or models against the criteria of its future transformed organization. Scoring the business model and/or portfolio of models will guide the organization in allocating focus toward renovating, creating, and eliminating business models.

4. An always-on and enterprise-wide reinvestment/efficiency innovation effort:  This program finds "coins in the couch and dollars in the dryer" at scale. The savings can help fund the renovation of current models and the creation of new ones.

5. A skill development curriculum and program:  Business leaders and their teams must have the skills of business model portfolio management and the know-how of the tools and methods to renovate, create, or eliminate business models. They must also know the systematic structure and methods of engaging teams to find coins in the couch and dollars in the dryer by transforming current processes.  

Reach out anytime! todd