Alternative Selection Best Practice - Select What Not To Do

No organization can do it all. Resource limitations drive leaders to choose from those activities that will maximize the benefit derived from the assets the organization does possess. What is not commonly done, however, is the discontinuation of some ongoing activities not deliberately selected for funding. Consequently, these activities draw precious resources away from the more value-adding activities thereby diminishing the organization’s overall effectiveness.[wcm_restrict plans=”25541, 25542, 25653″]

Discontinuing activities, particularly those embedded within the organization’s culture or identity, can be difficult. Often, the alternative selection process focuses on the act of selecting what to do and not selecting what to stop doing. StrategyDriven recommends that an organization’s leadership team deliberately select those activities to be stopped as a part of the business planning process. Furthermore, these activities should be pointedly defunded and follow-up performed by a named executive to ensure activity discontinuation. Anticipated performance changes resulting from the discontinuation of the selected activities, including budgetary changes, should be monitored for during management’s routine review of the consolidated organizational performance measurement report.

Final Thought…

Discontinuing activities that are a significant part of a company’s history is especially difficult and there may be ‘underground’ efforts to keep them ‘alive.’ When such cases are discovered, it is important for management to positively and, as needed, negatively reinforce the company’s new direction. If employees, including executives, managers, and supervisors, are not held accountable, diminished organizational performance will surely follow.[/wcm_restrict][wcm_nonmember plans=”25541, 25541, 25653″]

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