Governance is still on my mind because it continues to be the answer for many challenges a client faces BUT, they are challenged with doing anything about it – for many different reasons. And they are not unique in their situation. In my memory, there has been one client who took Governance seriously enough to do something about it (Looking at you Craig, Judd, Scott, Mannie etc. etc. 😊 😊) and my guess is that they are very glad they did?? I accept responsibility personally for not being able to convince others about this is because it continues to be the major source of friction and therefore slowing down effective and efficient decision making. If you want to add Acceleration and Velocity in your initiative, organization, processes etc., look no further than Governance.
Let’s just get this simple concept out of the way. Organizations are organized in silos but most decisions, especially the ones we are involved in, are made across silos. The tension is really in the boundaries between the silos – the arrows in the slide above. Boundary management is how you add Acceleration and Velocity and for effective boundary management you need effective Governance. But it’s just hard to convince people ☹.
Why do we need Governance you may ask? Here are some simple reasons (in Sourcing / Supply Chain context):
- Projects and categories seldom fall entirely within one jurisdiction
- Sourcing may encompass different Business Units
- Projects may span several suppliers and/or locations
- Stakeholders will typically have incumbent suppliers that they would like to continue doing business with
- Decisions need to be made in context of the overall enterprise
- Ability to leverage across the enterprise
- One or more BUs might experience cost increases, but the net effect is a cost decrease
- Standardization efforts to benefit both enterprise and suppliers
All of the above require cutting across silos or boundary management. There are no shortcuts unfortunately to resolving this issue other than to acknowledge the need for an appropriate Governance structure and then invest in implementing and adopting one.
Here’s another way to look at it. Are you able to answer the following questions to your satisfaction:
Alignment: Are we doing what’s best for overall ABC…
Visibility: Are we aware of problems/discord in the organization…
Impact: Does ABC understand what could happen if it “looks the other way”…
Communication: Are we communicating back to the field…
Prioritization: Is this where we should focus…
Responsibility: Who owns this…
Agreement: Do we know what needs to be done…
Friction: Are we doing what we can to reduce this…
Resolution: Was this problem solved and/or mitigated…
The answers to the challenges (in bold above) and the questions lie in Governance. While the name implies command and control, it’s actually the answer to ensuring alignment and collaboration. It is a way to stay in touch with AND to communicate with the “trenches”. Establishing focus and prioritization is only possible through effective Boundary Management (Governance). If establishing accountability and ownership is a challenge, then look to Governance for some answers.
