Current events as an analogy to developments in the business world

1. The Arab Spring, Hawthorne Effect and managing in chaotic time
100 years ago as the Ottoman Empire was disintegrating during the First World War, the
Middle East was sliced-up by arbitrary state lines drawn by the British and French diplomats
Mark Sykes and François Marie Denis Georges-Picot. In spite of their disregard for feuds
between tribes and religious beliefs, for better or worse, the Sykes-Picot agreement has
held together this beleaguered region since the end of The Great War. There have been
wars. Tyrants, some worse than others, came and went. But overall there have been
countries, central governments and order.
And then came the 2nd Gulf War and it all went downhill from there. Syria, Iraq and Libya no
longer exist as states. Yemen is torn by a civil war, Sudan is in chaos and millions or refugees
are scrambling to escape to Europe. And thriving on this chaos is the Islamic State (ISIS) and
the terror it breeds.
Similarly, not long after the end the WWI, the Hawthorne experiments launched a century
of studies and practices in HR management. And just as the end of the 20th century marked
the demise of a relatively stable Middle East, it has also brought an end to a fairly stable
organisational environment. Now we see the convergence of ever faster technology
disruptions, electronic media, new generations (X,Y,Z) of employees, the fall of yesterday’s
giants (Kodak, Polaroid, Lehman Brothers, Nokia, to mention just a few) and the emergence
of new ones such as Google, Facebook, Samsung etc. These factors, together with the
ongoing battle between progress, freedom and privacy and many other elements, are today
creating a perfect storm.

2. Every sailor knows that navigating a boat by only looking at the destination will not get them
to there. “Dead Reckoning”, as it is called by seafarers, does not take into account currents
and winds. In a similar manner, driving an organisation with just vision and mission
statements, without equipping employees with the tools and skills to adapt and realign the
organisation, their teams and themselves according to ever-changing circumstances, is
bound to end up crashing on rocks.
At N.E.W.S. Navigation we work with organisations and their managers to avoid these rocks
and dynamically navigate the path to where they want to go. Our navigation methodology is
structured, quick to implement and measurable and provides senior leadership and all
organisation’s managers with the tools to create alignment throughout the organisation by
defining:
- Where they are going
- Why they are going there
- How to get there
- What might hinder their progress
And, most importantly, develop the awareness and capability to adjust to changing
circumstances.
Unlike strategic planning, with N.E.W.S Navigation the participants are engaged in the
process from end to end, a fact that ensures buy-in. And unlike “traditional” coaching, there
is a balance of input from the coach and the coachee that ensures the assimilation of the
methodology and enables the coachee to apply the navigation tools and skills directly on the
job.
All this ensures that the organisation, its executives, line managers and employees remain
on course, whatever the circumstances are and whatever challenges they meet.