This is the last of a four-part series on the North Star goals that set category leaders apart from their peers. The final part of this series tackles what an agile, customer-centric culture means, why leadership support matters and how organizations can work toward this goal.
You may be familiar with Agile as a set of principles and practices for software engineering or even marketing work in organizations. An agile culture means keeping an openness to change and an appreciation for making decisions subject to evaluation and evolution. Thus, an agile culture is built for flexibility today and in the future. By adapting, adjusting and learning through successes and failures, an agile culture can lead organizations to quicker — and greater — success.
What leaders emphasize matters. If there is a direct line between creating profitability and efficiency and benefiting the customers. Ultimately, leadership plays a vital role in agile, customer-centric organizations because they reinforce the behaviors making up the culture. They also demonstrate to employees that actions to achieve company objectives can align with customer needs.
It is never enough to say you are a customer-centric organization or claim your teams are nimble to adapt to internal or external changes. What gets prioritized determines the culture and behaviors in an organization.
As much as your culture may embrace agility, humans naturally resist change. Some things make it more manageable, such as: – Having a purpose behind the change so it’s easier to understand. – Involving your team.This increases the likelihood of buy-in and participation.
Just as you send on-brand messages to customers, cultural change within an organization requires consistent communication. Don’t just assume employees only need to hear something once to get on board. Engage in consistent communication campaigns internally.
As you’ve undoubtedly seen in your career, good ideas are not enough. It takes a great team to do excellent work and continuously improve in a dynamic and competitive environment. Building an agile, customer-centric culture sets your brand up for success. When you continually focus on customers and create a motivating and rewarding work environment, your organization will stand out.
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