Everything takes time to happen, and then happens in no time.

– Osasu Oviawe

Everything that is important in an organization does not need a department and a Director.

One of the first things organizations do to prove that something is important is to create a new board position for it. It is supposed to be a signal that this is so important, it has a seat at the table.

There are merits to such an approach, because that is a powerful table to be on and it ensures that there is some airtime for the new initiative or the important undertaking.

However, a pre-existing table is also a politically correct table. Politically correct tables are designed to ensure a delicate balance. But to move forward, balance must be risked. The radical changes required in organizations come from those that have no time to sit at a table, the arena holds too much promise.

With digital and big data, all major organizations are now creating departments and Directors for them. This is one of the most fundamentally flawed ways to think about digital and big data. You do not need a department. Digital and big data are tools for your people. What is required is to accelerate the training of all your people on how to use the digital and big data tools. If it cannot be embraced by all, then you are not in the right direction. You need to rejig your recruitment system, for people with a bias to use digital and big data. You need to redesign the table to ensure only those with a bias for digital and big data continue to have a seat. You do not create space for a seat at the table for digital and big data, you redesign the table.

The same applies when trying to entrench a high performance culture. You do not create a seat of High Performance Director, you redesign the table to ensure only those aligned to high performance have a seat.

The same applies to inclusion and diversity. You do not create new positions and bring in new seats to improve inclusion and diversity. You redesign the table to ensure that only those aligned to inclusion and diversity have a seat.

However, if creating new seats at the table is the only way you know how, please do, it is better than nothing. Slightly better.

– Osasu Oviawe