Outcome-oriented organizations
set market trends
success for long. The climate inside a company of this style is
typically one of tension and worry.
When Unipart managed a turnaround of its business against all
market predictions, it did a number of things. One was to change
the way that it ran meetings. Managers recognized that the
emphasis in their meetings previously had been on problems,
even though they were nominally called progress meetings. They
acknowledged that they did not consider or imagine what they
really wanted from their meetings or their projects prior to
considering how to get there. So they began every meeting with
a discussion of what they did really want—an outcome.
Outcome-oriented organizations, on the other hand, have a
clear vision of where they are heading. This is an expression of
what the employees in the company really want. Because of
this there is a high level of motivation and commitment to the
future. Staff enjoy their work. The vision is an inspiration both
to those who work within the company and to those with whom
they come into contact, their customers, and their suppliers.
This style of company sets market trends. It influences its
customers to move forward with it to their vision of the future.
Outcome-oriented companies are innovative and influential.
They do take account of market trends, the economic climate,
and competitors, but they do this in the context of having a
clear, compelling outcome and business plan.
Lentern Aircraft, discussed in Chapter 13, is a family business
making components for aircraft. The family spirit extended to
everyone in the business and the members of the board
especially had a strong rapport with each other. They decided to
invest in their development as leaders and underwent several
teambuilding exercises that strengthened rapport even further.
They then took time out to imagine the outcomes for the
business. Collectively they imagined what future they wanted for
the business so that they could see, hear, physically feel, smell,
taste, and emotionally feel what that was like. They did this
individually and then shared their thoughts.
The measure of their rapport was that what they had each
imagined individually was either identical to or complemented
280 NLP AT WORK