Thinking ahead without falling behind

Junior consultant Elizabeth Atherton asks if it’s possible to balance short-term imperatives with long-term goals

Who remembers erstwhile Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg confidently proclaiming back in 2010 that the suggestion of building another nuclear power station to address Britain’s energy needs was ‘not even an answer’, as it would take a whole 10-12 years to come on stream?

Fast-forward 15 years and our energy bills are through the roof, we are importing about half our fuel from abroad, and there is still no clear solution in sight as to how we reach a level of sustainable energy security.

With hindsight, one might look back and think how utterly short-sighted Clegg’s view was and how it is in part responsible for where we are now.

How easy it is to criticise past politicians for short-termism. But the reality is that our political system doesn’t make it easy to plan beyond the next election – and when politicians try to, we don’t make that easy for them either.

We now find ourselves in a situation where our government is making longer-term noises about new runways, train corridors, reservoirs, a British energy company... In response, they are grilled about the benefits these proposals will bring to our lives in the here and now.

It seems there are no easy answers.

Something has to give

Indeed, there probably aren’t. Happening to turn on the radio the other weekend, the first question from the audience in Radio 4’s Any Questions was ‘What must we sacrifice for growth?’. The question is pertinent because, more often than not, in thinking of the longer term, something more immediate must give.

This may arise in the form of an organisation needing to ‘future-proof’ itself by becoming leaner and more digitally savvy, or by realising that, in light of the current financial climate, it will either need to downsize or invest in infrastructure and technologies for the future, which may mean cutting back now in other areas. All of which may be perfectly reasonable, but it needs to be done with the present firmly in mind.

Too often we hear stories of organisations that are so focused on the future and how they might reinvent themselves in order to survive that they overlook their responsibility to those who work for them in the present. They forget that what the organisation does right now really matters – not only to its employees, but to all stakeholders. The way an organisation behaves, the messaging it puts out and the way it treats its employees have inevitable repercussions for how the wider world views it and whether or not trust is built or destroyed, which will have obvious implications for its long-term success.

We regularly hear of yet another organisation holding a consultation, ostensibly seeking to elicit the views of its employees or wider stakeholders – before the inevitable redundancies begin. But any consultation needs to be framed honestly and be a genuine exercise in hearing the voices of those who have a stake in the organisation’s future, rather than paying lip-service to the process, with minds already made up.

We are all used to hearing how important the buzzwords ‘sustainability’, ‘diversity’ and ‘inclusivity’ are to an organisation’s future security. But what do they really mean, and how do leaders ensure these considerations are addressed without taking their eyes off the ball regarding what is important right now?

Striking a balance

To stand any chance of striking this elusive balance between short- and long-term priorities, there are four essential requirements for any organisation, all connected to its mission and purpose:

• The organisation must have a clear and communicated mission.
• Everyone in the organisation must understand that mission and commit to it.
• Everyone in the organisation must also embody a culture that supports the mission.
• The organisation must stay true to its mission, whatever changes may be afoot, and decisions made must be in service to that mission.

Good governance is the secret sauce that makes all of this possible; governance that enables a real sense of community and teamwork, with everyone knowing they’re in it together, working towards a common goal. There must be clear lines of communication, accountability and transparency, and a real understanding of how everyone’s daily tasks help contribute towards the organisation’s long-term strategy.

To stay true to any mission, astute and receptive leadership is vital. Leaders must be flexible to the needs and demands of what’s happening on the ground today while never losing sight of the organisation’s shared vision for tomorrow.

An understanding of the Three Horizons model, which provides a framework organisations can use to assess potential opportunities for growth without neglecting their performance in the present, is also beneficial (there’s a short interactive presentation on McKinsey’s website that explains the model well).

Organisations that take care of the present will reap future rewards through building loyalty and trust, and that means having the structures and systems in place to enable growth while bringing the workforce and stakeholders along for the ride too.

Together, the seemingly impossible can become possible, right here and now, and long into the future.