As we move towards the festive period I wanted to make one more comment about organisational behaviours and the Lipstick Chart.
Let us begin with a key question, and one which I now regularly ask all my clients.
Imagine your organisation in 12 months time. It has a higher level of resilience than it exhibits today. How has the organisation changed?
I have started to use this question along with the Lipstick Chart as a way of understanding the culture and priorities of an organisation. The response is often stated in terms of the organisation’s ability to protect it’s customers. As a result, the Lipstick Chart is focussed on the activities that have a direct impact on the relationships with the organisation’s customers. I have talked before about the natural behaviours of organisations, and how this prioritisation may already happen. See my post Where is the Big Risk? for the analysis.
I only raise this point as we are currently planning the cover for the Festive period. In essence we use our own lipstick chart to plan the rolldown of our business services. Critical services are protected, by moving resources from BAU and priority activities. Here we have another natural behaviour that most organisations go through in order to maintain their continuity. I accept however, that for some organisations, the Festive season may not be their quietest period.
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