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During the first half of 2014, I trained for and ran two half-marathons, back-to-back. This was a huge achievement for me as for the first time in my life, I didn’t get out of breath just from climbing stairs. Finally, I had become the holy grail of “fit”.
Shortly after the second half-marathon, I moved house. On moving day, I got up bright and early to load the crammed boxes into the van. However, as I went to carry the first box, I found I couldn’t lift it. But I was so fit, I’d just run two half-marathons – what happened?! Well, it turns out, not all exercise is created equal. Although I had strong legs and stamina, my arms had not been trained at all, so I was weak as a kitten in my upper body. I was not what is known as functionally fit.
Functional fitness is the concept of linking exercise back to everyday movements found in daily life so that you can sense and respond to any external force or challenge that may come your way. For example, lifting boxes, running for the bus and dodging pedestrians.
This is the same type of strength needed in organisations if they are to thrive in the 21st century. Large corporations have traditionally been good at developing the structures and practices to enable efficient and predictable results, but this is the equivalent of just jogging on a treadmill every day. This worked when external conditions were stable and could be predicted. But what happens if you have to run outside, on unknown terrain, at varying speeds and with potential obstacles? Jogging on a treadmill doesn’t prepare you for a more uncertain and complex environment.
You must encourage and nurture certain attributes in order to have a culture that can thrive in unpredictable conditions. As part of our recent Digital Transformation Barriers Report, we have analysed best practice cultures and drawn on our experience with clients and our own teams to define these. These are the five muscles of your culture that must be exercised so that your organisation is functionally fit, and primed to respond to changing market dynamics:
Via David Hain
