Three Questions to Anticipate the Need for Change

Back in 2004, I came across the paper \”Change in the Presence of Fit: The Rise, the Fall, and the Renaissance of Liz Claiborne\” by Nicolaj Siggelkow (it is long, however, reading about the fashion industry was so interesting!).  Based on the author\’s concept of \”Fit\”, to anticipate the need of change we must (caveat:  I am adding my own spin here):

1. Look inside:  Does the organization have internal fit?  (Do all the functions of the company work seamlessly and efficiently?)
2. Look around:  Does the organization have external fit? (Do the products, services, strategy and structure of the organization interact effectively and efficiently with customers, suppliers, competitors, government and other environmental factors?)
3. Look ahead:  Is the current internal fit an asset for the company\’s future external fit (which can be different from the current definition of external fit)? Responding this question requires an analysis of the short term and long term risks and opportunities the organization has.

If the answer to any of the questions is \”No\”, change is needed soon, or within a few years.  Such change could be disruptive and inclusive of apparently perfect processes and models.

Below I pasted a chart from the article.  It illustrates the fit concept (using Ford as an example).