Originally posted on Huffington Post Business 1/25/12.

Do you remember the popular book, Dress for Success? It sold millions of copies based on a simple concept:  If you want to get ahead you need to look the part. And that starts with what you wear. Wardrobes were updated everywhere.

Dress for Success was itself a resounding success because it nailed the fundamentals. Its basic premise made sense — appearances matter. And, it was easy to execute.

So, the individual had a playbook, albeit one book in the broader scheme of things, on how to increase their odds of success. Cool.

What about the organization? Is there an equivalent playbook for driving success for the organization as a whole? Is there something fundamental that can be executed across the organization that would also accelerate momentum, value and sustainable success? I would argue, yes, but it’s not what graces most reading lists.

Certainly, there is good thinking about the effectiveness of culture, the importance of community, and the benefits of branding. There are also new ideas about more efficient organizational  structures and models. All are worth investigating and deploying.

But, none of this work gets to the root cause of why organizations are not as successful as they can be. Organizations are not achieving their full potential because organizations do not align for success. For all the talk of one corporate culture, one community, and one brand, we continue to see departments operating within their own agendas, goals and motivations. And while some success is being achieved as a result of innovative products, smart selling, and brilliant marketing, an organization will not be as successful as it can be without integrating all three of those fundamental behaviors.

So, how can organizations align for success?

1. Integrate the three most important operating departments — product, sales/service and marketing — around a powerful and compelling positioning platform
2. Construct a roadmap that shows your customers the way to create and capture value in your market space
3. Align the company behind the value roadmap. Everyone should be trained on its content. A value roadmap is thought leadership at its best, especially for an industry space that is forming or shifting. Customers at all levels will value the thinking
4. Equally, align the company behind the competencies needed to realize those value-creation paths either through its own IP, products and services or with the addition of partnerships that complete the portfolio
5. Manage your people, process and technology to support what you’re telling your customers they need to be competent at. The competency part of value roadmap can serve as the blueprint for what your company needs to be good at and a framework for decision making
6. Publish and promote the heck out of the value roadmap. When you own the customer path to value you become the de facto industry leader

Sure, this kind of work is a lot more difficult that simply replacing your wardrobe, but I’d argue many companies don’t do much more than that anyway. What exactly is a new marketing campaign, product demo or a sales person, but a new suit anyway?

My next post will go into greater depth on value roadmaps.

Addendum: If this topic piques your interest, you might want to check out two earlier posts.

1) This post is about which department should lead the integration/transformation effort. Read Making Transformation Happen.

2) This post is a case study on a company that leveraged a value roadmap as the foundation of its transformation to lead a new category. Read Noise.

If we were honest, we’d probably conclude that while the idea of making resolutions is relevant, our execution falls far short time and again. Why is that?

I believe we do short shrift to the process of making resolutions because we don’t see it for what it really is—vitally important. The process of determining our most meaningful hopes for the New Year is no different than making an annual plan. Companies do it. Why don’t individuals? For all the talk of You, Inc. and you as a brand, we do a really poor job of attending to something so fundamentally important.

Here are some guidelines to instill purpose into this year’s resolution process.

1. Positioning. This is your foundation. Positioning is the platform upon which everything is based—your goals, your plans, and your brand. Remember, positioning isn’t just about what you are. Perhaps more importantly, positioning is about who you’re not. And that’s a lot harder to determine.
2. Core Beliefs. Surely you have fundamental beliefs. What are they? Do you have an overarching point of view? Can you articulate it? Is it relevant to those with whom you choose to interact?
3. Network. What type of people and organizations are you for? Are there others like them who would expand your network of influencers?
4. Goals. What do you aspire to do? What motivates you? Are your goals big enough or are they too easily attainable? Do your goals inspire you? How about others? Who can help you achieve your goals? Do they know?
5. Impediments. What’s in the way of you achieving your goals? Are they truly roadblocks or simply things that need to be handled?
6. Early Wins. What can you do in the next few weeks to build momentum? Every plan needs to operate on two levels—the longer-term strategic level and the shorter term tactical one. Put energy behind both.
7. Measures. How do you know your plan is working? What are the measures that will tell you and others that you’re making progress? How often should you check? Inspecting and acting on things too closely too often risks losing perspective. Be sure to look, but don’t obsess about it.

Do you resolve to do things differently this year? Do you resolve to do something really important? Can you be as bold as Sting who sang, “I resolve to call her up a thousand times a day to ask her if she’ll marry me some old fashioned way”? Now that’s inspiring and memorable.

The signals that indicate things aren’t going so well fall into two camps:

1. You haven’t been visibly endorsed
2. Your work isn’t having an impact

You know you haven’t earned the endorsement of your boss or your peers when:

– You aren’t in the critical path of planning
– Decisions are being made without your direct involvement
– You aren’t given a broad enough forum to share your thinking
– Your boss asks you to present your ideas to a group invited by your boss

You know your work isn’t having an impact when:

– Your ideas aren’t showing up in anything except your own presentations
– There is both silent and vocal resistance to your points-of-view
– Your big, strategic ideas are trivialized as possibly valid for tactical purposes

If this is happening to you then you are certainly frustrated, possibly confused, and likely concerned. What can you do? That’s the content of a future post. The good news is there are immediate steps you can take. The other good news is your organization can do a much better job of ensuring your success.

The signals that indicate things are going well fall into two camps:

1. You are in demand
2. You are having an impact

You are in demand when:

• Your opinion is welcomed
• You are included in internal meetings that go beyond your purview
• You are asked to attend important client and partner meetings
• You are invited for coffee and lunch by people outside your department

You are having an impact when:

• Your ideas are finding their way into the language people use
• Your concepts are being incorporated into the building of new things
• You are asked to present your thinking to larger groups of people
• Momentum is building around the work you are leading

Are there other signs? Sure there are. I’d be most interested in hearing about your own signals of early success. Thanks in advance.

Do you have a life plan? Is your career mapped out?

I wonder, how’s it going? Is it taking the form you envisaged? Are you where you thought you’d be? Is it all neat and tidy?

Probably not.

If you’re like most people, your life and your career are different from what you planned.

• Did you plan to move to New York from Florida, but instead wound up in Portugal?
• Did you see remaining an owner of your business only to be lured away by your client?
• Are you concerned that your last four jobs have averaged 18 months each?
• Do you want to be an entrepreneur, but are instead looking for the next paying job?

How does that make you feel? Frustrated? Or are you okay with where you are?

I once read an old Spanish poem that helps put these questions in perspective.

Translated, it says, The Way Is In The Going.

My guess is you’re exactly where you should be. Remain open to the possibilities. And make the most of them. It is your way.