CEO Brian Bjordal.

 

I’d claim that successful organisations are the ones which understand their surroundings. They possess a deep-rooted grasp of the world at large and of the mechanisms set to operate in the future. They see the signs and act accordingly, based on an understanding of the complexity which surrounds us.

Another key feature is clear leadership and open collaborative relationships. These organisations have grasped that achieving results calls for improving their ability to work towards them in collaboration with others.

I believe results are often achieved at the interface between an outwardness which absorbs the world’s realities and a systematic strengthening of the organisation’s inner life.

 

But I’m no believer in rigid recipes, whether for management or cooking. Cookery writer Michael Ruhlman, for instance, has headed a move towards food preparation based on proportionality. From this perspective, pie pastry consists of three parts flour, two parts fat and a quantity of liquid. The trick is to understand the relationship between these ingredients – how to balance the liquid against the dry.

 

Good food can be created by carefully following a recipe, but it won’t be outstanding. It’s possible to be a good leader by following the plentiful advice available in management literature, but outstanding results derive from a different source.

The age of straight lines is past, and five-year plans are out of date as soon as they’ve been formulated. What persists for Gassco, however, is outstanding operation and development of the infrastructure.

 

In a world characterised by great uncertainty and huge complexity, collaboration and responsiveness are essential for success. I’d maintain that complexity, unpredictability and external dynamics represent the biggest challenges of our time.

Without an overall view and a focused approach, expertise has no value. That’s because it must be applied in a dynamic setting.

Given an adequate overview, sufficient focus and extensive use of applied expertise, however, today’s conditions could open new opportunities and create a room for manoeuvre we once could only dream of.

 

(29.02.2010)