A teachable point of view, grounded in an understanding of your mission, also helps you know when to say no to people, practices, and opportunities that no longer add value to the work of the organization. They stay in touch with the needs of the marketplace and are constantly finding new opportunities to add value. Yet they say no to a lot of things. For example, casinos are coming into Detroit, promising to hire inner-city workers. Today their 40 managers are learning a disciplined, mission-based budgeting process that is helping them continue to grow the organization.
Growth is always a tool, never an end in itself.
For these organizations, growth is always a tool for accomplishing more, never an end in itself. Their leaders know that growth entails risk, but that growing is less risky than not growing. It is part of the genetic code of all living systems, and must become so for all organizations. Like all living systems, organizations that are not growing cannot survive. Reprinted with permission from Leader to Leader , a publication of the Drucker Foundation and Jossey-Bass, Inc., Publishers.