Taking ideas from the edge and bringing them into your core

To deal with volatility, leaders need to adopt integrative mindsets. This article describes the values and actions that have proven to be successful, based on the author's experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. A Strategic Integration Unit can give impetus and focus to resolve tensions and generate innovation.

As leaders face a global business environment marked by volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous (VUCA) conditions, a new way to sense and respond to the environment is required. Specifically, leaders need to adopt integrative mindsets -- capable of balancing both "core" and "edge" concerns, resolving tensions among opposing ideas and using them to generate innovative outcomes. This article describes the values, attributes, actions and behaviors that have proven to be successful, based on practical examples, business research and the author's personal experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan. He presents an ambidextrous framework that combines the ingredients for successful execution today with the innovative capacity required for growth tomorrow. In this sense, a Strategic Integration Unit can give much-needed impetus and focus.

Tools and Frameworks

"A Vision of Integrated Management" presents a conception of how a Strategic Integration Unit works, reading the signals and coordinating between corporate headquarters and stakeholders in the field.

"A Strategic Alignment for VUCA" lists the values, attributes, actions and behaviors to align at individual and organizational levels.

Examples Cited

Marshall Plan, personal examples from the author's experiences leading strategic initiative groups in Iraq and Afghanistan, automobile production line, General Electric, Jack Welch, Ed Catmull, Pixar, Disney

Research Basis

Derived from practical examples, business research and personal experiences the author had when leading strategic initiative groups in Iraq and Afghanistan.

About the Author

Fred Krawchuk is a visiting professor at IESE in the Department of Managing People in Organizations.