Gartner, a trusted, independent source of performance appraisal in technology, defines market position in terms of ‘ability to execute’ and ‘completeness of vision’. Their ‘Magic Quadrant’ demands excelling at both. Companies use Gartner’s feedback to focus their mission and strategic initiatives for improving products, operations, and perhaps even their vision. Feedback is essential for identifying what’s needed to shift market position.
The Magic Culture
What’s not obvious is how the company’s vision, strategy, and culture come together to impact market performance. Sustained status in the ‘Magic Quadrant’ requires a ‘Magic Culture.’ Magic Cultures are where synergy is found i.e. possessing resilience and ingenuity for maintaining a well-aligned position within their given ecosystem.
On a comparative basis, organizations with cultures that lack requisite resilience or ingenuity will tend to drift into one of the other three operating states:
Insular
High internal knowledge sharing, but limited exposure to new ideas. System is coherent but inward-focused. Strong ties within clustered sub-organizations but siloed; they suffer from a lack of connectivity between clusters.
Pluralistic
Novel inputs abound, but local knowledge is fragmented or isolated. Innovation occurs but has no depth or traction. Diverse but loosely connected; multiple hubs emerge, enabling innovation but sometimes leading to misalignment or competing priorities.
Tumultuous
Neither internal knowledge nor new information flows well. System is chaotic and disconnected. Disordered interactions with no clear structure; unchecked feedback loops cause instability; lack of adaptive mechanisms leads to conflict and inefficiency.
S TIRRING THE MAGIC
Organizations that possess vibrant, well aligned vision, strategy and culture will create virtuous cycles that accelerate and cohere. Business Ingenuity’s survey instruments are designed to help executives and the organizations they lead to achieve or maintain Magic Quadrant status through establishing a synergistic operating state. Want to find out more? Check out our latest blogs and case studies. Or contact us directly at info@businessingenuityinc.com; we’ll be happy to answer all your questions.