Being the nimble provider in a market brings a number of important advantages beyond securing and maintaining market alignment. Nimble organizations are able to attract and maintain more competent employees, as well as design and deliver more creative solutions to their customers. The most important step in building a nimble operation is hiring and retaining the kind of people who can translate the desired vision into tangible reality. Building the nimble organization depends more on who is on your team than on how teams are structured or what responsibilities they are assigned. Leaders must be supported by a cadre of managers, supervisors, and employees who are able and willing to go beyond the guidance provided them.
Nimble organizations tend to attract people who display resilience during change.
Resilient people are positive that they can succeed in unfamiliar circumstances. They remain focused on objectives during times of confusion, exhibit flexibility, find order within what appears to be chaos, and proactively engage change rather than run from change. They also tend to be resourceful, multiskilled, highly motivated people who have a high tolerance for ambiguity, a desire to experiment, and a willingness to appropriately challenge authority. When an organization creates a critical mass of people with these qualities, its ability to attend to shifting demands dramatically accelerates. Leaders of constrained organizations usually try to maintain their organization's equilibrium by directing and predicting events.