The Transformational Organization Paradigm

Business professionals and the world at large have seen a 'new millennium' shift in how business is conducted emerge over the past 20 years, and so far, organizations who have attempted to transform to meet the new demands of this new 'age' have largely failed. Through that time, and regardless of the angle of approach: financial meltdown, globalization, competitive re-positioning, customer demand, or talent retention - continuous transformation has become the new reality... a reality with properties so different than what we have known, that a good deal of unlearning of the ways in which business is conducted has to be done before forward movement is possible. This new reality represents an entirely new paradigm for business that will continue to emerge over the next 20 years. This book refers to this phenomenon as the Transformational Organization Paradigm and takes the position that moving from their current paradigm into a transformational paradigm is not optional for most companies in the post-millennial world. The Transformational Organization Paradigm is a method and a style, it is a philosophy and a strategy, it is a tool and an outcome. It is a way of being and forms the basis of a set of disciplines that are applied to steward the organization toward meeting the accelerated pace of business, and that shifts leadership capability and the tenor in which communication with employees and business partners takes place. Under the Transformational Organization Paradigm, levers for motivating change and agility that are already present in the organization become more prominent, have a pervasive presence in day to day work, and create lift and leverage in new ways. The outcomes of applying the methods, practices and tools associated with the Transformational Organization Paradigm are measurable, tangible, and evidence-based. THIS BOOK This book talks about transformation as a permanent state of operation for the organization. It accepts and proposes that the interpretation of the optimal transformational paradigm for each organization is different based on the particular nature of the enterprise. The ideas in this book are expressed in terms of the kinds of activities, habits, and capabilities an organization must shift toward in order to be agile while travelling at a transformative level. This book answers in broad terms the questions "What is it?," "What does it look like" and "What are we aiming for?" when it comes to describing the new transformational paradigm that is now our day to day reality. And also discusses 'why' the new paradigm has come into being in practical terms. In most sections the Transformational Organization Paradigm is described in terms of the kind and nature of communication that is occurring, and the kind and nature of the leadership that is occurring. Altering these two foundational aspects of day to day business is a big part of the work in developing a transformational paradigm within an organization. Where possible, examples and metaphors are used to convey ideas and bring home the tone and tenor of the ideas in the material. Research for this book was conducted over an 8 year period from 2004 to 2015 and encompassed observations and conversations with clients as well as a review of scholarly and popular written works by professionals in psychology, human resources, business management, leadership, and information technology.