Organisational momentum. (Episode 104)
Interview with Michael Holm, Managing Director at Diageo.
When you are a young manager, you might think reaching your annual targets, on budget, and on time is what constitutes success, but when you become more experienced you will come to realise that that’s not really what matters. Sure, reaching your goals is excellent, but creating Organisational Momentum is what really matters. And sometimes, it might just be more important than reaching your numbers.
Organisational Momentum is the ability to create an organisation that is aligned with the organisations goals and vision, and yet has the ability to reinvent what and how you do something.
I learned about Organisational Momentum from Michael Holm. Michael works for Diageo and has been with the British multinational alcoholic beverages company (that owns iconic brands like Johnnie Walker, Guinness, Smirnoff, Captain Morgan, Baileys and many more) since 2011.
Michael: “When I was younger 2+2 was 4, you did what you were supposed to do and delivered according to plan. But now I know that it is important that you can show that you create transformation – perhaps more so than reaching your targets. People will not remember if you reached your goal of 8%. But they will remember the people who delivered memorable transformations, the people who changed a culture, came up with new product line, shifted the mindset of the organisation.”
Do not get me wrong, Michael who is managing Diageo in Eastern Europe, is delivering good performance but they are also moving the organisation forward.
Michael’s definition of Organisational Momentum is: “A mindset of a leadership team which is collectively, and continuously moving an organisation forward.”
In the conversation I had with Michael he told me: “(As a leader) you always have to have three or four bets going on.”
A bet, according to Michael, is something that is a gamble to try, but that has the potential to fundamentally change something if it works out.
He told me about how Diageo identified a trend towards non alc spirits and how they developed new, non alc liquids, so consumers across the world can enjoy their favorite spirits but without the alcohol. This has been very well received by consumers and is now being rolled out across many markets.
Organisational Momentum is about building a culture where people are excited about creating something more than just reaching a set goal.
Less “set”.
More “bet”.
Michael: “It’s about this desire to create something new. About instilling this mindset of creating ’the little extra.’ If you can rally people about that, then you have momentum. Organisational Momentum. It just feels like the right thing to do.”
Yes, it does. Doesn’t it?
What can you do to create more Organisational Momentum?
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