The secret (and the art) is the “how” to do something. Just think of the time you learned to play a sport, play a musical instrument, or do key aspects of your profession – there were plenty of books to read, guidance documents to review, and plenty of people to tell you “what” to do (or more likely, what not to do). However, it was the true coach or dedicated mentor that showed you “how” to do it successfully.
Too Many Initiatives
Organizations drown themselves with new initiatives, process improvements, and best practices. Drown is the operative word because most disappear beneath a sea of lost dollars and wasted time. If you do not understand the “how”, the “what” really does not matter. The key is Organizational Capacity.
The CID Nexus
Organizational Capacity is defined as having and maintaining a Secure Harbor (safe place) that is ripe for continual improvement, maintaining an organizational structure focused on core functions and the nexus of workforce capabilities, information systems, and decision making (CID nexus), and recognition of the personality of the specific operation.
How You Do It Is Key
If that sounds like gobbly-gook, we’ll break down the three aspects of Organizational Capacity in upcoming posts. For now, remember three important aspects – it is about the “how” rather than the “what”, reduce everything to core functions tied to your mission because we waste a lot of time doing things we do not need to do, and focus on your staff’s Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) because the people must make it all happen.
This article is based on the paper "Implementing Asset Management: Organizational Capacity as Primary Challenge," available in the proceedings of the 2017 Conference of the Society of Maintenance and Reliability Professionals (SMRP).
JD Solomon Inc provides program development, asset management, and facilitation at the nexus of facilities, infrastructure, and the environment. Sign-up to receive monthly updates.
