Reorganization is a part of business, it’s as common as copy machines and coffee cups. What else is common? How often they fail at creating anything different in an organization. The Knicks seem to be on to something, so here is what you need to know.
Get back to basics
The Knicks are bringing back Steve Mills and with over 26 years’ experience, but the genius thing? They are keeping Grunwald. I have no idea how they held on to him, but having an advisor who built a winning playoff roster is like insider trading. The point of a reorganization is to help the organization function more effectively, so look to find the answer in the room. Genius move Knicks.
Don’t find fault on the way out
It’s easy to blame the one leaving for all the things going wrong in your organization, but taking the high road does more than let you sleep at night. It makes your organization accountable. The Knicks have made some mistakes and those mistakes were blessed from the front office. It makes no sense to grumble about something that has happened, but what does make sense it to try to understand how it happened and how to prevent it from happening in the future. The Knicks acknowledge that they have the task of strengthening the roster, what they are doing is forcing the organization to focus on the future not the past.
Respect history
Reorganizations and change in general have a habit of displaying selective amnesia and while I understand that in business focus should be on goals, those goals should be long term strategic goals. Mills has a huge background in management and player development and the Knicks are savvy to take advantage of that knowledge. When you respect the knowledge that is within and around your organization, you have already positioned yourself for a great outcome.
Business is a minefield, full of snap decisions and half-truths. What you think you can depend on you absolutely cannot, so before you redesign your organization ask yourself what you want to see. Build your organization from that perspective and take some advice from the Knicks while you’re at it.
