Built-In Burden

As I started to outline the structure of an organization I've been studying, one thing was evident: Although the organization claimed that it wanted both functions A and B, a heavy bias on behalf of A was decidedly a burden on B's making any serious progress and yet B was the more important activity if the organization as a whole was to be secure.

There were several reasons for this. Once upon a time, A was all the organization had to do. As a result, it developed a strong A orientation and the top executives reflected that mindset. The B function was regarded as secondary and intellectually inferior even though it was more of a money-maker. Executives gave cautious lip-service to B, but - unless carefully watched - would quickly slip into their default A mode. Many of the board members had a similar disposition and longed for the old days when A was all that needed to be done and competition was rare.

Much needs to be done to get the necessary changes in place. The question now is whether to force a knock-down, drag-out fight over the A and B priorities or instead simply to get the changes in motion that will correct the imbalance and let those do their stuff.

I'm still thinking about this one.