i4cp Presents Stanford University’s Jeffrey Pfeffer on Building Organizational Agility

Few challenges hobble organizations more consistently than change. When it comes to anticipating and adapting to shifts in the business environment, not even 40% of leaders say their firms are effective. Further, only 31% say their companies are agile enough to be good at exploiting change to create opportunities.

In the just-published issue of From Now to Next, i4cp's executive thinksheet series, Stanford University professor and i4cp Thought Leader Consortium member Dr. Jeffrey Pfeffer discusses key considerations involved in creating a culture of agility that can capitalize on change.

Available as a complimentary download, the latest thinksheet features an interview with Pfeffer in which he reveals what he and colleague Robert Sutton believe to be the most important agility-related question that should be asked about an organization. Pfeffer, one of HR Magazine's Most Influential HR International Thinkers, also discloses a crucial action organizations must stop doing if they are to successfully build agility.

High-performance practices drive agility

Along with Pfeffer's thoughts, From Now to Next presents cutting-edge next practices in organizational agility that i4cp research links to high-performance organizations. For instance, companies that consistently perform well in the marketplace are 6.5x more likely than lower-performers not just to respond faster to change, but to adapt constructively to shifts in the business environment.

Another high-performance differentiator confirmed by i4cp research lies in organizations' approaches to risk-taking. High-performers in the marketplace are about 2x more likely to view intelligent risk-taking as a positive action to be rewarded, even when those risks don't pay off financially. Such a nothing-ventured, nothing-gained philosophy helps position daring enterprises to afford employees the kind of safe environments needed to encourage creativity and innovation.

Explore other next practices of high-performers and get Pfeffer's insights on companies leading the way in building organizational agility. Download your complimentary copy of From Now to Next for access to success strategies you can apply in your own organization today.