Have you ever heard this situation? A company makes changes to its strategy and people development plans to grow, only to find it is stumbling significantly after the changes are made. This exact situation came to light in a conversation recently. A few decades ago, the company underwent an initiative to address cyclicality in its business, leading it to change its strategy and expand its offerings to minimize the impact of the cyclicality. It also undertook a deliberate effort to match the right people to the right position to minimize risk in the business and grow skillsets.
Years later, the company backed out of the newly expanded offerings. The cyclical part of the business was doing extremely well at the time and the newly expanded offerings were not quite as profitable, so resources were reallocated. And to meet the needs of the business, people were promoted more quickly and did not have the full skillsets. As a result, the company found itself in the same spot it was a few decades before. The history lessons had not transferred between generations of leadership. How are you making sure history does not repeat itself in your business?