Blog #4 - Good Strategy requires balancing four tensions

The success of strategy often involves managing strategic tensions. While reading the article “Good Strategy requires balancing four tensions”, I was reminded about how we managed to deploy a running software that improved the efficiency of design engineers at Ford. Every step towards the final product required managing the four tensions as stated in the article.

Tension #1: An inspiring end-state versus challenging targets

After a brief meeting with the Stakeholders, the inspiring end-state was outlined by our technical manager. The end product was a technical user-interface that would make everyday life of a design engineer much easier. The end-state served as a motivation and direction to the aggressive challenging targets. At the same time, it helped ensure the whole team align their objectives towards a common goal. We, as a team framed our own challenging targets by deciding on how to approach the end-state. Challenging targets involved:

• Laying a strong infrastructure to manage the database, which served as the repository from which data is to be accessed for further action. 
• Authenticating the authorized users to access the data to ensure confidentiality and integrity as we deal with future car products that are to be released in the market. 
• Surveying design engineers about the expectations of their user-interface and their preferred method of access. 
• For providing a better end-state product, we would acquire the feedback from the Stakeholders and the Design Engineers by developing a proof of concept. 
• Developing the final software. 
• Testing functionalities and handling errors in a graceful manner. 
• Deploying the application to the Software Release Process.

Without having challenging targets nor understanding the 5 W’S , it wouldn’t have been possible to achieve a successful change journey. Understanding the business needs by surveying, helped us immerse ourselves into the shoes of the design engineers to better serve them.

Tension #2: Top-down control versus democratization of change

In the process of releasing the product, the technical manager and stakeholders did a good job by not micromanaging the team every minute. Instead, they acted as an appropriate top-down leadership by helping us stay focused on the ongoing alignment without dashing off in multiple, uncoordinated directions. We were given the freedom to make decisions on who does what among the team. Speaking on a team-level, we did a good job by capitalizing on the strength of every team mate and complimenting on the weakness of the team. “Everyone in the organization felt empowered to make decisions that can influence change, thus creating a palpable energy”. Top- down control and democratization of change go hand in hand to deliver a successful outcome.

Tension #3: Capability development versus pressure for results

I see them as competing demands; and when they compete, pressure for results wins. As a team, we have been in the same boat of deciding between capability development and releasing the existing product with required functionalities. Sooner we release the product, higher the savings in job-hours. This in turn translates to higher efficiency as the design engineer can finish his 8-hour job in 4 hours enabling quicker completion of projects. Time being an essential component, the management and stakeholders decided to release the product. This strategic move bought us time to add a lot more functionality to the product. Simultaneously, the design engineers had also started using the product to design the various components of a car.

Tension #4: Creativity versus discipline

In our scenario, this tension was the most difficult to balance. Since the vanilla version of the product had been released, the team was very enthusiastic to add in additional functionalities. When we were provided the room for innovation and creativity, each one of us went on unmatched coordinates. Our technical manager was quite surprised to see this behavior. Rather than totally putting us down, he served as an amazing guide by aligning us in the right direction. Creativity shaped by discipline is a powerful attribute that could foster relationships among the top-down organizational level.

Citation:

[1] https://hbr.org/2017/11/good-strategy-execution-requires-balancing-4-tensions